Your Excellency, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe;
Dr. David Parirenyatwa, Minister of Health of Zimbabwe, and Chairperson of the Sixty-seventh session of the Regional Committee session;
Dr Arlendo de Rosario, Minister of Health of Cabo Verde and outgoing RC Chair;
Honourable Ministers of Health and Heads of Delegation of Member States of the African Region;
Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, Director General World Health Organization;
Your Excellency, Mrs Amira Elfadil, my dear sister, the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs;
Ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions;
Colleagues from UN agencies, both at regional level and the country team in Zimbabwe, our development partners;
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
It is a pleasure to address this distinguished gathering at the start of the Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa.
I thank you, your Excellency, President Mugabe, for having honoured the opening with his presence, and I extend our gratitude to you, the Government and people of Zimbabwe for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements for hosting this Regional Committee.
It is indeed a special honour and personal pleasure to welcome Dr Tedros Gebreyessus to his first Regional Committee as Director-General; he is the first DG from our Region, and I think we are permitted to express our pride.
A very warm welcome to all the Ministers of Health and Regional Committee delegates from Member States, especially Ministers who are taking part for the first time.
Thank you to our health partners participating in this meeting and welcome to Victoria Falls.
First your Excellency and Honourable Ministers, I express our condolences to the people of Sierra Leone following the tragic mudslide. We are all working collectively with the Government and Ministry of Health to help them.
A key development since the last Regional Committee in Addis Ababa is the interest in health globally.
Health is progressively taking its rightful place on the global development agenda, as seen from the recent G20 Heads of State summit, which discussed health security, health systems strengthening and antimicrobial resistance.
For the first time, WHO was represented at this Summit by our DG, Dr Tedros, and there was strong support for the role of WHO as a leader in Global Public health, and also recognition that health is an integral part of building resilience in countries.
Regionally, in January this year, African Heads of State endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunization and committed themselves to the International Health Regulations on the IHR, 2005to strengthen global health security, while the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in August last year adopted the Nairobi Declaration, incorporating building resilient healthcare systems, emphasizing prevention and preparedness, and mobilizing financial resources.
This growing convergence of views on the need to strengthen health security, and health systems, is being translated into action by the global community including you, our Member States in the African Region.
In May last year, the World Health Assembly approved WHO’s new Health Emergencies Programme, enabling us to radically change our way of responding to outbreaks and emergencies, and helping to build preparedness to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks.
Countries in the African Region have taken this strongly on board too, by agreeing to Joint External Evaluations of their IHR core capacities to detect and respond to public health threats, leading to comprehensive, all-hazard plans to address gaps, and equipping them to mobilize the requisite financial resources to fill these gaps.
New funding facilities are available: The World Bank’s Global Financing Facility is a key financing platform to promote Universal Health Coverae, while its REDISSE project will fund IHR capacity building in ECOWAS countries. The African Development Bank as well is supporting IHR capacities, starting in West Africa post-Ebola, within health systems that provide access to quality services for all.
With support from global partners, the African Union, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has been established to focus on disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response. And as the Commissioner said, I attended their board meeting yesterday, and I congratulate them for their fast progress.
This global momentum is driving progress. WHO’s reformed Health Emergencies Programme promotes collective action across the three levels of the Organization.
I’m happy to say we are already seeing faster, more effective responses to outbreaks such as meningitis, cholera and yellow fever; improved dissemination of information through weekly bulletins to all partners; and greater transparency, as articulated in the Transformation Agenda.
For instance, a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was brought to an end in just two months. Firstly, in line with the IHR, 2005 and the Regional Strategy, the Government was quick to declare the outbreak, and WHO with government and partners swiftly deployed experts to the remote area where this outbreak occurred for a coordinated, effective response.
WHO played a central role in the cross-border control of a Lassa fever outbreak in Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso.
Honourable Ministers, building stronger, resilient and responsive health systems, which reach all localities and citizens, is the best way to stop outbreaks from becoming epidemics. It is also the best way to bring equitable health care to all people in Africa.
So for us, pursuing UHC is a top priority: It is key for achieving stronger health systems, for attaining Sustainable Development Goal 3 to “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing”; and for assuring the agenda 63 agreed by the African Union.
Ladies and gentlemen, financing is fundamental to improving health systems in the Region and currently, unfortunately, millions of households are experiencing catastrophic health spending for health services through out of pocket payments which we note have actually increased in nearly every country in the Region.
UHC allows for appropriate financing strategies such as prepayment mechanisms, pooling of funds and financial protection.
We in WHO/AFRO has developed a framework – in collaboration with senior health ministry officials from all our Member States, last year, and partners – to guide action on advancing UHC and SDG 3; we are creating a monitoring system to provide information on the progress and also to enable us to identify gaps.
Mesdames et Messieurs, des lacunes importantes en matière d’équité et de couverture subsistent dans des programmes établis de longue date.
Par exemple, la couverture vaccinale dans la Région a stagné pendant des années, restant continuellement en-deçà des cibles mondiales de 90 % de couverture, exposant certains enfants au grave risque de contracter des maladies potentiellement mortelles telles que la rougeole.
L’Afrique est confrontée au problème croissant de la tuberculose pharmacorésistante, et seuls 70 % des 27 000 personnes atteintes de cette forme de tuberculose rapportés en 2015 ont pu accéder au traitement.
Mesdames et Messieurs les ministres, l’OMS s’attelle à accélérer les efforts des États Membres pour prendre des mesures efficaces visant à mettre fin à l’épidémie mondiale de tuberculose d’ici à 2030. Je vous invite instamment à participer à la Conférence ministérielle mondiale sur la tuberculose qui aura lieu à Moscou en novembre de cette année. Il s’agit là d’une excellente occasion de partager des expériences, d’échanger des idées et de définir les principales actions à prendre pour faire évoluer la situation.
Mesdames et Messieurs, les maladies non transmissibles constituent un problème croissant dans notre Région, et les pays s’efforcent de lutter contre ces maladies et leurs facteurs de risque. Il ressort des enquêtes menées dans trente-trois pays que la plupart des adultes présentent au moins un facteur de risque qui accroît leurs chances de développer une maladie non transmissible potentiellement mortelle.
Cependant, il est clair que la lutte contre les MNT n’est pas érigée au rang de priorité majeure ni dotée de ressources suffisante
s dans les programmes nationaux d’action sanitaire. Il est primordial de présenter un argumentaire et de plaider en faveur de la lutte contre les MNT, en poursuivant parallèlement la prévention, la détection précoce et le traitement.
Les déterminants sociaux, tels que le clivage entre le milieu urbain et le milieu rural, influent sur les résultats sanitaires.
Les déterminants environnementaux tels que le changement climatique et les événements climatiques extrêmes ont des répercussions directes et indirectes sur la santé, notamment les flambées de paludisme et de fièvre jaune.
Tout ceci souligne l’importance de travailler avec les autres secteurs. Les objectifs de développement durable fournissent une bonne plateforme pour une telle collaboration.
En juin de cette année, nous avons organisé à Kigali, au Rwanda, le tout premier Forum de la santé en Afrique, sur le thème Les populations d’abord : la route vers la couverture sanitaire universelle en Afrique.
Cette réunion a rassemblé un aréopage exceptionnel de parties prenantes comprenant des ministres de la Sante, des avocats de la santé, le secteur privé et les jeunes, qui ont eu des échanges francs sur les problèmes de santé publique et les potentialités dans la Région.
Les participants à ce forum ont convenu que la couverture sanitaire universelle apportera plus d’équité aux populations africaines, en réduisant la pauvreté grâce à une meilleure santé.
Donc, la couverture sanitaire universelle est un choix politique. Je conviens avec notre Directeur général que tous les pays peuvent assurer la couverture sanitaire universelle, selon leurs besoins spécifiques. L’OMS est en mesure de vous aider à y parvenir.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the Africa Health Forum, we heard how innovation, particularly information technology and eHealth solutions, can help us to leapfrog action for better health outcomes.
Countries in the African Region are increasingly using digital health systems in regular health services provision to reduce equity gaps.
I encourage you to visit the exhibition here to see how GIS technology, for example, can be used in polio eradication.
We are also exploring the role and potential contribution of the private sector to UHC, and were inspired by the enthusiastic, constructive dialogue at the Africa Health Forum.
Ladies and gentlemen, honourable ministers, Excelleny:
Our drive to eliminate diseases is paying off. For example, the Expanded Special Project for Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases, called ESPEN, set up last year to eliminate the five diseases amenable to preventive chemotherapy, has leveraged medicines donations for mass drug administration, reaching millions of people in the first year of operation. And we note the side event on Mectizan donation will be celebrating 30 years of donation at a side event here.
Togo is the first country in the African Region to achieve WHO’s validation of elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. I once again heartily congratulate you, Honorable Minister and the people of Togo, for this achievement.
The four cases of wild poliovirus which were detected in insecure areas in Nigeria last year saw a strong sub-regional response in the Lake Chad basin, and I’d like to thank the Ministers of Health and their teams for their hard work. It is indeed now one year since the last polio case.
The Honourable Ministers are reminded that polio assets are being transitioned to support other public health programmes such as routine surveillance and outbreak response, and we ask for your leadership and action in mobilizing alternative resources to avoid losing these capacities to your health systems.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made in implementing the Region’s Transformation Agenda.
I called for an independent evaluation, by WHO’s Global Evaluation Office in Geneva of the mid-term progress of this 5-year reform process, in April 2017. The evaluation confirmed progress made especially in accountability, compliance and risk management.
The TA will be discussed in more detail during this meeting.
I would like to end by thanking all of you heartily for your warm and cordial support over the past year. I congratulate all the countries for the progress made.
I went on a number of official visits this year to Member States and other countries, where I was graciously received, and had very fruitful discussions of benefit to the health of our populations.
To our key partners, thank you for your collaboration and support, especially at country level.
I look forward to interacting with you all, and hearing lively and productive deliberations, and to excellent decisions during this 67th session of the Regional Committee on which we will collectively act.
Thank you very much for your attention.