Dr Sambo unveils his strategic directions for WHO action in the African Region (2010-2015)

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WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has unveiled his vision of strategic directions that will drive actions and interventions in order for countries in the WHO African Region to achieve sustainable health development over the next six years (2010 – 2015).

Speaking in Brazzaville, Dr Sambo said that the six strategic directions he was proposing were predicated on WHO core functions, and designed to build on achievements recorded in the last five years of his stewardship as Regional Director.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, has unveiled his vision of strategic directions that will drive actions and interventions in order for countries in the WHO African Region to achieve sustainable health development over the next six years (2010 – 2015).

Speaking recently in Brazzaville, Dr Sambo said that the six strategic directions he was proposing were predicated on WHO core functions, and designed to build on achievements recorded in the last five years of his stewardship as Regional Director.

Among these achievements was the implementation of Region-wide actions contained in the Strategic Orientations for WHO action in the African Region 2005 – 2009, the blue print which the Regional Director introduced on assumption of office as Regional Director in 2005

The six strategic directions set out by the Regional Director for 2010-2015 are:

  • Continued focus on WHO’s leadership role in the provision of normative and policy guidance as well as strengthening partnerships and harmonization
  • Supporting and strengthening health systems based on the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach
  • Putting the health of mothers and children first
  • Accelerated actions on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis
  • Intensifying the prevention and control of communicable and noncommunicable dis-eases, and
  • Accelerating response to the determinants of health

These strategic directions outline the issues, challenges, opportunities and priorities that will guide the work of the WHO secretariat in the Region during the Regional Director’s second term in office.

They recognize the socioeconomic dimension of health development and propose orientations to address the most serious health problems faced by the people of the Region as well as their key determinants.

The strategic orientations articulate the role of WHO in addressing Africa’s public health priorities while recognizing the space of other cooperating agencies , funds, partner-ships and NGOs that are . involved in the strengthening the implementation capacity of national health systems under the leadership of governments.

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 1

Continued focus on WHO’s leadership role in the provision of normative and policy guidance as well as strengthening partnerships and harmonization

Under the first strategic direction, the following milestones are envisaged:

  • Forging and strengthening new strategic alliances and partnerships including Agreements with the African Union and Regional Economic Communities by 2012
  • Reflection of WHO Cooperation Strategies in all future country United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks with HHA support by 2013
  • Involvement of all WHO country offices in the provision of support for develop-ment of National Health Strategic Plans orientated towards the achievement of health MDGs by 2013
  • Establishment of networks of national health and academic institutions by 2014
  • A compendium of strategies on priority public health issues adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Africa published by 2014

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 2

Supporting the strengthening of health systems based on the PHC approach

Milestones established for this strategic direction are:

  • Revision, publication and dissemination of guidelines for the development of national health policies and National Health Strategic Plans by the end of 2010
  • Documenting and promoting five best practices on the implementation of the Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Health Care and Health Systems in Africa in 2011
  • Issue, by 2011, of the African Regional Health Report: Narrowing the Knowledge Gap to improve Africa’s health
  • Establishing a functional African Health Observatory by December 2012;
  • Documenting and promoting three best practices on the implementation of the Al-giers Declaration on Research for Health in 2012
  • Issuing an evaluation report on the implementation of the Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Health Care and Health Systems in Africa by 2014;
  • Issuing an evaluation report on the implementation of the Algiers Declaration on Research for Health by 2014;
  • Issuing an evaluation report on the implementation of the Libreville Declaration on Health and Environment by 2014
  • Issuing a progress report on the achievement of the health MDGs in the African Region by 2015
  • Issuing an evaluation report on the implementation of the Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Health Care and Health Systems in Africa by 2014;

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 3

Putting the health of mothers and children first

Under this strategic direction, the following milestones are envisaged:

  • Launch of the Regional Women’s Health Commission, and dissemination of its report by 2011
  • Support thirty 30 Member States to develop costed minimum packages of mater-nal and newborn services at each level of the health care delivery system by 2013;
  • Support 30 Member States to have basic Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care services available in 80% of their health districts by 2014
  • Availability in all Member States of the African Region a national child survival strategy by 2014
  • Issue a report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on Women’s Health in the African Region by 2014

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 4

Accelerated actions on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB)

This strategic direction envisages that:

  • An annual Regional report on progress towards universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support will be issued.
  • Regional progress reports on the implementation of Regional Committee Resolu-tion AFR/RC59/R3 on accelerated malaria control will be issued in 2011, 2013 and 2015;
  • By 2014, new guidelines for identification and treatment of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB cases will be disseminated and implemented in the four high-burden multidrug-resistance countries

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 5

Intensifying the prevention and control of communicable and noncommunica-ble diseases

Milestones envisaged under this strategic direction are:

  • Interruption of the transmission of wild poliovirus in the African Region by the end of 2011
  • Establishment of an African Public Health Emergency Fund by the WHO Regional Committee for Africa by 2012;
  • A regional strategic plan for controlling neglected tropical diseases adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Africa by 2012
  • Publication of The African Health Report on noncommunicable diseases for policy making and programme development by December 2012
  • Establishment of a regional network of centres of excellence by December 2014

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Direction 6

Accelerating response to the determinants of health

Under the last strategic direction, milestones envisaged are:

  • Adoption of a Regional Strategy for tackling health inequities through action on the determinants of health by the WHO Regional Committee for Africa by 2010
  • Adoption of a revised Regional Health Promotion Strategy by the WHO Regional Committee for Africa by 2012
  • Undertaking of a situation analysis and needs assessment in all Member States in the context of the Libreville Declaration on Health and Environment by 2014.

Implementation of the Strategic Orientations for WHO action in the African Region (2005 – 2009): Achievements recorded

An appraisal of the Strategic Orientations which guided the Regional Director and the work of WHO in the African Region between 2005 and 2009 shows that tangible progress was made in health development during the period in despite an evolving and difficult envi-ronment marred by conflicts, disasters, financial and food crisis, economic downturn and inadequate funding for WHO core programmes.

Notable among the achievements were:

  • Reorganization of WHO country offices through clustering of programmes to improve effectiveness and efficiency; reprofiling of staff, and the development of the second generation of Country Cooperation Strategy which currently serve as a reference document for WHO support at country level, and alignment of support to countries’ priorities.
  • Establishment of Inter- Country Support Teams in Eastern and Southern Africa (Ha-rare-Zimbabwe) Central Africa (Libreville-Gabon) and West Africa (Ouagadougou-Burkina Faso) to ensure timely provision of technical support to countries
  • Restructuring of the Regional Office to increase its focus on policy, normative, moni-toring and evaluation functions;
  • Establishment and expansion of partnership in health for improving health outcomes and increasing inflow of resources for health through innovative mechanisms of col-laboration with several development partners thus facilitating the harmonization of support and improved alignment with the priorities and systems of Member States.
  • Sustained immunization interventions which have contributed to a 92% reduction in estimated measles deaths between 2000 and 2008, surpassing the goals set for 2009; a 25% decline in the number of reported cases of wild poliovirus in 2009 as compared to 2008;
  • Implementation of WHO-recommended proven and cost-effective interventions such as artemesinin-based combination therapy , ITNs, indoor residual spraying and other actions which resulted in a significant reduction in the malaria burden;
  • Support to countries in promoting collaborative TB/HIV interventions which has re-sulted in more effective management of the dual infection in an increased number of countries
  • Strengthening of countries’ capacity to manage outbreaks and disasters and the establishment of a highly effective rapid response teams at the Regional Office and the ISTs
  • Revision of the Regional Guidelines for the Formulation, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of National Medicine Policies. National capacities for effective medi-cine regulation were improved, and actions taken to strengthen and expand cov-erage of and access to, essential medicines under national health insurance schemes.
  • Support to countries to establish their own National Health Accounts and develop their own health financing strategies
  • Establishment of the Africa Health Workforce Observatory to provide information on human resources for health and to monitor trends
  • Establishment of the Commission on Women’s Health in the African Region to gener-ate evidence on the socioeconomic benefits of investing in women’s health;
  • Development of tools such as the Guidelines on Human Resources for Health Policy Planning (which is contributing to the strengthening of health systems); Guidelines for Evaluation of Basic Nursing and Midwifery Programmes; Food Safety and Health: a strategy for the Africa Region (to address the adverse implication of food security in the region); Health Financing: a strategy for the African Region and Guidelines for the development of national health policy and strategic plans.
  • Development, in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Bank, of the Regional Child Survival Strategy and the Road Map for the Attainment of the MDGs Related Maternal and New Born Health ( to address the region’s high maternal and child mortality.

 

 

 

 

Download the Strategic Directions

Achieving Sustainable Health Development in the African Region
Strategic Directions for WHO 2010–2015
[pdf 1.1Mb]

 

 

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