Malabo 31 August 2010 -- The sixtieth session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa World Health Organization opened in Malabo on Monday with a call by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea to Member States to prioritize maternal health because “ women are the back bone of the family in Africa.”

“Maternal mortality should continue to be the focus of our concerns as long as we have not found adequate solutions. We know that much has been done since the development of the roadmap to reduce maternal and newborn deaths (in 2004) with a view to reversing this disastrous situation; yet, much remains to be done” , President Mbasogo said.

“I would like to state, once again, that we African leaders are entirely committed to participating fully in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the quest for health for all throughout the continent," the Equatorial Guinean leader added.

President Mbasogo underlined the role of research in health development saying that it was in recognition of this that his country had offered to host the secretariat of the African Observatory for Science, Technology and Innovation which will serve as a centre for research, exchange of information and a data bank for African countries.

In a wide ranging address the former President of Mali and former Chairperson of the Africa Union (AU) Commission, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konare, recalled the significant progress made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, guinea worm disease, leprosy and other diseases and expressed the need to share experiences and best practices. He also made reference to numerous declarations made and resolutions adopted by the region's leaders , including the Abuja Declaration, and called for the full implementation of those commitments, monitoring of their implementation and addressing challenges encountered at the implementation phase.

Prof. Konare also broached the subject of leadership and good governance saying that these were key to bringing about the much needed change in Africa.

In her remarks, WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, reiterated her commitment to improving the health of the people of Africa and commended the AU for its recent declaration relating to promoting actions on maternal, newborn, and child health and development in Africa by 2015.

She praised the AU's determination to promote programmes for the total eradication of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, so that no child is born infected with the virus, and welcomed other provisions in the declaration which emphasized the importance of strong leadership and political will for concrete actions and recognized the need to enhance the mobilization of domestic resources.

“This is yet another expression of commitment,” the WHO Director-General said.

Addressing the meeting, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, recognized the progress made in the Region in the area of public health Region-wide but warned that the reduction in health budgets and spending could jeopardize the ideals of universal access and health care equity. "WHO operations in the Region are already confronted with a significant budget deficit which is affecting priority programmes such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria , and maternal and child health", he said.

While calling on Member States to increase their budgetary allocation to the health sector and establish sustainable mechanisms for social protection, the Regional Director also cautioned: "With the current budgetary trends, WHO will be obliged to separate from organization a good number of experts and this will reduce our capacity to meet the demands of Member States."

He however added that to better address disasters and epidemics, he was proposing the creation of an African Public Health Emergency Fund in accordance with the recommendations of ministers of health.

The purpose of the proposed Fund is to mobilize, manage and disburse additional resources from countries for strengthening national and regional capacities and systems to identify, verify, notify and respond rapidly and effectively to epidemic and pandemic-prone diseases.

For more information, please contact:

Media contact:

Samuel T. Ajibola, WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville; Tel: (+242) 7700202; + 41 241 39378; In Malabo: (+240) 222658696 E-mail: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int

Barbara Etoa, OMS/AFRO, Tel: (+240) 222716100 courriel: etoab [at] cm.afro.who.int

Souleymane Koné, OMS/AFRO, Tel: (+240) 222716100; courriel: kones [at] ci.afro.who.int