Dr Sambo Briefs Diplomatic Community in Congo on WHO activities

Dr Sambo Briefs Diplomatic Community in Congo on WHO activities

Brazzaville, 11 December 2006 -- The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, on Monday briefed heads and representatives of more than 40 diplomatic missions, bilateral and multilateral organizations as well as donor agencies accredited to Congo on the activities of WHO.

Dr Sambo painted a panoramic picture of the health situation in the African Region; outlined the health challenges facing Member States; highlighted new and emerging opportunities for forging enhanced partnerships for health action, and outlined WHO’s strategic orientations for health intervention in countries.

He listed the strategic orientations for intervention in Member State States as: provision of technical support to countries; the re-inforcement and expansion of partnerships for health; health systems strengthening especially, at district level; the scaling up of priority interventions, and promoting understanding of the key determinants of health.

The Regional Director stated that countries, partners and other stakeholders should work together to take advantage of new and emerging opportunities to tackle health challenges confronting the region and improve the health indicators in Member States.

Dr Sambo informed the diplomats that the return of the Regional Office from Harare to Brazzaville, which started in 2002, had now been completed with the re-assignment by 30 November of all Harare-based Regional Office staff to Brazzaville or to one of the recently established locations for Inter Country Support Teams.

He further explained: “The Regional Office is now operating fully from here (Brazzaville) in terms of the 1952 headquarters agreement signed between WHO and the Congolese government. However, I also wish to inform you that we have now established three Inter-Country Support Teams (ICSTs) in Libreville, Gabon (to serve Central Africa); Ougadougou, Burkina Faso (to serve West Africa) and Harare, Zimbabwe (to serve Eastern and Southern African and the Indian Ocean Island countries.”

He further said: “ ICSTs are not a new hierarchical level in AFRO, nor do they constitute another layer of bureaucracy. They are designed to bring technical resources closer to countries; improve managerial and administrative support to them; ensure delegation of authority and the strengthening of accountability, and bring about a quantitative and qualitative flow of human and financial resources to enable WHO achieve its objectives.

He added that the new arrangement will allow the Regional Office to concentrate on policy formulation and coordination, adapt or develop norms and standards, as well as plan, monitor and evaluate the Regional Programme Budget. It will also improve the oversight and quality assurance function of the Regional Office.

Dr Sambo also used the occasion to brief the diplomats on the launch of The Health of the People: African Regional Health Report launched on 20 November in Addis Ababa, London and Geneva. He stated that the report was a welcome departure from past gloomy reports on the situation in Africa . This is because while it acknowledges challenges facing the region, it highlights success stories and offers practical, low-cost, affordable solutions which have worked in Member States.

In his remarks the Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps in the Republic of Congo, Ambassador John Daniel Bibigas of Gabon, noted that the Regional Office was established 52 years ago and commended WHO management for initiating this encounter with the diplomatic corps in the Congo. “This meeting between WHO and the diplomatic corps should be institutionalized to serve as an additional forum for the exchange of ideas. He said the election of Dr Margaret Chan as the new WHO Director-General was a good sign for the future of the Organization and for Africa because of the hands-on experience she has had in fighting deadly diseases such as SARS, and her commitment to improve maternal health and the health situation in Africa.

Speaking at the occasion, the Coordinator of the United Nations System in Congo, Mr. Aurelien Agbenonci, stated that the 12 UN agencies represented in country were desirous of working in synergy to help Congo in its quest to attain the health-related the Millennium Development Goals. He also commended WHO for organizing the briefing session with the diplomatic community.

The Congolese Government’s representative at the briefing session was the Justice Minister, Mr. Gabriel Entsa-Ebia, who spoke of the need to halt and reverse the high and mounting disease burden in the region. He said special efforts must be made to accelerate the prevention of HIV which, he said, was causing death, poverty, misery and incalculable human suffering in Africa.

The briefing session for the diplomats ended with a guided tour of WHO facilities including the library and residential quarters.

 


For more information contact: 

Mr. Samuel T. Ajibola

Tel: + 47 241 39378

Email : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int