Yaoundé, 2 September 2008 -- “By virtue of their multiple roles, women constitute a key link in the chain of development, and efforts must be made by African countries to ensure that women are in a state of physical, mental and social well-being to be able to carry out their numerous responsibilities.”

This call for action was made on Tuesday in Yaoundé by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, in a report to the fifty-eighth session of the WHO Regional Committee to Africa taking place in the Cameroonian capital.

In the report, Dr Sambo proposes an action plan which countries should implement to improve women’s overall well-being so as to enhance their contribution to development efforts throughout the Region.

The action plan includes the integration of women’s issues into national policies and programmes on women’s profiles; the development and implementation of adolescent-friendly programmes on information and education; improved clinical services for women; and the scaling up of essential interventions related to the health of women, especially those living in rural areas.

Other proposed actions include strengthening the capacity of women, families and communities with a view to empowering women, and setting up a national multidisciplinary team of experts in health, gender and human rights to conduct research on issues specific to women’s health such as female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices.

The other components of the proposed plan are the mobilization of resources essential for the effective implementation of essential interventions, and the development of an integrated communication plan to increase understanding of the importance of women’s roles so as to promote a change of behaviour towards women’s health issues.

“A huge majority of African women are still unaware of their rights to health, education and life,” Dr Sambo also notes in the report, pointing out that many of them continue to be victims of sociocultural discrimination; harmful practices; gender-based violence; food taboos; forced marriages; and early, unwanted and excessive pregnancies.

He adds: “These problems coupled with the weakness of health systems are at the root of the high mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa where one out of 26 women is at risk of dying during childbirth.”

Current WHO estimates show that Africa’s high maternal mortality rate is one of the Region’s most tragic health problems. Of the 14 countries worldwide where maternal mortality is above 1000 per 100 000 live births, 13 are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The reduction of maternal mortality by 75% between 1990 and 2015 is one of the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals. However, a recent study by WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank shows that in 2005, only 0.1% reduction in maternal mortality was achieved in the Region.

This situation has been blamed on a number of health system constraints, including the fact that 57% of women in countries in the Region lack access to assistance by qualified staff during childbirth.

For further information, please contact:

Technical contact:

Dr.T. Ketsela

Tel: + 47 241 39309

E-mail: ketselat [at] afro.who.int

Media contact:

Samuel Ajibola

Tel : +47 241 39378

E-mail : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int