Brazzaville, 11 February 2011 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Luis Sambo on Friday 11 February 2011 called on all diplomats to be advocates for health towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. He made this call at a meeting with members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Republic of Congo in Brazzaville.

“Our mission is to contribute to improving the health of the people of Africa as outlined in the WHO constitution. Your work and support are indispensable for carrying out our functions. As representatives of the international community we think it is very important for us to brief you on the work of WHO and to have your support on how best to address the increasing health demands in the Africa Region”, said Dr Sambo.

The Regional Director observed that the African Region faces a high disease burden characterized by communicable and non-communicable diseases which are major obstacles to sustainable health development. These are compounded by recurring epidemics, high infant and maternal mortality rates. He pointed out that progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been slow and called for accelerated efforts towards their attainment.

Dr Sambo informed the envoys about the prevailing high maternal mortality in the region and highlighted some ongoing initiatives being undertaken to address this scourge. These include; the implementation of National Roadmaps for the Attainment of the MDGs Related to Maternal and New Born Health in 43 countries, launch of the African Union’s Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), as well as, the work of the Commission for Women’s Health in the African Region.

He expressed concern about the vulnerability of the African Region to pandemics and epidemics, particularly cholera, and viral haemorrhagic fevers and drew attention to his proposal for the establishment of the African Public Health Emergency Fund to mobilize additional resources for effective preparedness and response to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. He also called for stronger advocacy with governments and the international community to address Neglected Tropical diseases such as buruli ulcer, Noma and lymphatic filiasis.

He called on governments to ensure adequate financial allocation to the health sector with a view to sustaining the health gains attained so far. The Regional Director also emphasised the need for stakeholders to support WHO financially to enable it to continue to perform its core functions.

In her remarks, the Deputy Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in the Republic of Congo, Mrs. Esther Kirongi Missai, thanked Dr Sambo for organizing this second round of briefing for Brazzaville-based foreign envoys since he assumed office as WHO Regional Director for Africa in 2005.

She commended him for proposing the establishment of the African Public Health Emergency Fund and assured him that participants at the briefing would report key messages of the briefing to their respective countries or agencies.

Speaking on behalf of the Government of Congo, Prof. George Moyen, the Minister of Health said that the good turnout of diplomats at the briefing was evidence of the importance they attach to health, and also testimony to the growing and dynamic inter-relationship between the health and other sectors.

Describing WHO as the “first adviser on health issues to Member States”, Prof. Moyen said that countries in the Region had always taken into account policy orientations and technical guidance on health developed by WHO. On partnership, the Congolese Minister commended WHO for its timely response in containing the recent polio outbreak in the country, and for providing norms to address Congo’s priority health issues.

“This is the occasion for us to recognize you (WHO) as the partner assuming the leadership in the domain of health,” Prof. Moyen said, calling on United Nations agencies as well as other partners to ensure harmony in their work and coherence in their interventions in order to enable countries accelerate progress towards attainment of the health-related MDGs.

On behalf of the UN family, Mr Lamine Maneh UNDP Resident Coordinator in Congo expressed his appreciation to the Regional Director for the briefing.

For more information, please contact:

Media contact: AFRO Communications Team 
Tel: +47-241-39378/ 39420/39352/39382;
e-mail: cam [at] afro.who.int