Health Ministers from ten southern African countries and senior officials of the World Health Organization meet from 26 - 28 August in Harare, Zimbabwe, to examine the response of the health sector to the acute and large-scale humanitarian crisis facing the region.

The meeting will explore ways to intensify and accelerate the response of health systems to the current situation in the region through containment of potential increase in disease burdens, and helping to prevent loss of life. It will also identify core priority interventions and agree ways to strengthen coordination and support mechanisms.

The three-day meeting is expected to be attended by the Health Ministers of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Senior WHO officials expected to attend the meeting include WHO Director General, Dr Gro Harlem Brundland, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim M. Samba, and the Director of Programme Management at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dr Luis G. Sambo. Also in attendance will be representatives of health and humanitarian organizations working to improve the health situation in the African Region.

Current estimates by UN agencies show that as a direct result of the current situation in southern Africa, nearly 14 million people, including 2.3 million children under the age of five are at risk. Without effective action to enable the most vulnerable to survive, at least 300, 000 people in the region could die from hunger and disease in the next six months.

"We are concerned that many deaths that occur during emergencies like the current one are due not only to starvation but also to disease; undernutrition makes people more susceptible to disease and existing health services are often unable to take on the added burden", says WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim M. Samba.

"It is imperative for governments and their development partners to maintain or even increase public investment in health services during emergencies, including investment in nutrition, childcare, sanitatation and clean water. Health services during food shortages are also needed to cope with HIV/AIDS. "

The serious food shortages being experienced in southern Africa have been caused by a deadly combination of floods and droughts across the region; and aggravated by several structural and chronic problems such a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, economic degradation, increased poverty and faltering health systems. 

For further information, please contact

Youcef Ait-Chellouche,
Emergency and Humanitarian Action Unit 
Tel: + 1 321 953 9314; 
Email: chellouchey [at] afro.who.int

Samuel T. Ajibola,
Public Information and Communication Unit 
World Health Organization - Regional Office for Africa 
P.O. Box 6 Brazzville, Congo. 
E-mail: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int
Tel: 1 321 953 9378; 
Fax: 1 321 953 9513 
From 26 - 28 August in Harare: 091 321 405