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His Excellency President Mugabe congratulates Dr Parirenyatwa at the WHO Regional Committee for Africa 67th session

Victoria Falls,
August 28 — September 1, 2017

1. The Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa was held at the Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Falls, the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Present at the opening ceremony on Monday, August 28, 2017 were: His Excellency President Robert Gabriel Mugabe of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Minister of Health and Child Care of Zimbabwe, Dr David Pagwesese Parirenyatwa; the outgoing Chair, Dr A Nascimento do Rosário, Minister of Health of Cabo Verde; the Minister of Provincial Affairs for Matabeleland North, Mr Cain Mathema; other cabinet ministers and members of the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe; ministers of health and heads of delegation of Member States of the WHO African Region; the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti; the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Her Excellency Amira Elfadil; and representatives of other United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and partners.

2. Dr Parirenyatwa, the Minister of Health and Child Care of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and Chair of the Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee, welcomed the delegates and congratulated the outgoing acting Chair, Honourable Dr A Nascimento do Rosário. The Minister expressed his delight at the selection of the Republic of Zimbabwe to host the meeting, especially as it was the first Regional Committee to be attended by the first WHO Director-General from Africa, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He congratulated the Director-General on his election and assured him of the full support of all African countries in his global assignment.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director General

He then recalled the long list of agenda items, which reflect the health challenges still facing the Region despite the significant progress made in some areas. He noted that addressing these challenges would require a collective approach and wished the delegates successful deliberations.

3. Honourable Dr A Nascimento do Rosário, Minister of Health of Cabo Verde and outgoing acting Chair of the Regional Committee, welcomed Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and congratulated him on his election as the first WHO Director-General from Africa. He expressed his conviction that the deliberations on agenda items covering a wide range of health matters in the Sixty-seventh session would help to promote the health of the people in the Region.

4. In her address, Her Excellency Amira Elfadil, the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, thanked WHO for the strong and growing partnership between the two organizations. She joined previous speakers in congratulating the Director-General of WHO on his election. The Commissioner emphasised that strengthening partnerships is crucial to transforming the health aspirations of the continent into a reality.

5. Dr Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, thanked the President and people of the Republic of Zimbabwe for hosting the meeting, for their warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for this Regional Committee session. She congratulated and welcomed Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to the first Regional Committee meeting he was attending since his election as WHO Director-General. The Regional Director also extended a very warm welcome to all the ministers of health and other delegates, especially those attending the Regional Committee for the first time.

Dr Moeti WHO Regional Director for Africa

6. Dr Moeti extended her condolences to the people of Sierra Leone following the tragic mudslide that occurred in that country. She assured them that WHO was working with the government to provide support in the health aspects of the response.

7. The Regional Director noted that there is a growing global interest in health issues, which is helping to restore health to its rightful place within the global development agenda.

A case in point is the recent G20 Heads of State Summit held in Germany, where health security, health systems strengthening and antimicrobial resistance were discussed. She also drew attention to strengthened regional commitment to the International Health Regulations. In addition, she highlighted recent regional achievements, which included the endorsement this year of the Addis Declaration on Immunisation (ADI) by African Heads of State.

8. Furthermore, Dr Moeti spoke on the growing convergence of views on the need to strengthen health security and health systems. Initiatives in this area include the approval by the World Health Assembly of the new WHO Health Emergencies Programme in May 2017; the Member States’ action in pursuing Joint External Evaluations of their IHR core capacities; the availability of new funding facilities, including the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility to promote universal health coverage; the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems

Enhancement (REDISSE) project to fund IHR capacity building in ECOWAS countries; the African Development Bank support for IHR capacities; and the establishment of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention by the African Union.

9. Dr Moeti noted that the reform of WHO’s Health Emergencies programme was leading to faster and more effective responses to outbreaks; improved dissemination of information through weekly bulletins to all partners; and greater transparency.

This was evident in the rapid response to the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 2017, which was brought to an end within just two months. Similarly, WHO played a central role in coordinating the process for the cross-border control of a Lassa fever outbreak in Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso.

10. The Regional Director declared that building stronger, resilient and responsive health systems is the best approach to stop outbreaks and bring equitable health care to all the people of Africa. Consequently, pursuing UHC is a top priority, and a key contributor to achieving Sustainable Development Goal three (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) and assuring progress in pursuing the Agenda 2063 as agreed by the African Union.

Delegates follow proceeding at the WHO Regional Committee for Africa 67th Session

Accordingly, WHO in collaboration with health ministries in Member States has developed a framework to guide action on advancing UHC and SDG3 as well as a monitoring system to provide information on progress. She observed that financing is fundamental to improving health systems in the Region. Dr Moeti indicated that efforts were being made to improve immunisation coverage, combat antibiotic resistance and end TB by 2030.

She mentioned that the growing burden of non-communicable diseases was also a concern for the Region, noting that it was imperative to adopt measures against NCDs, including prevention, early detection and treatment. The growing importance of social and environmental determinants underlines the need for a multi-sectoral approach with the SDGs providing an excellent platform for such collaboration.

12. Dr Moeti reported on the significant progress made in implementing the Region’s Transformation Agenda. She indicated that an independent mid-term evaluation by WHO’s Global Evaluation Office in April 2017 had confirmed the progress made.

13. In his remarks, the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, thanked President Mugabe, of the Republic of Zimbabwe for his commitment to health. He also thanked the countries in the Region for their support, and acknowledged the outstanding work of Dr Moeti on behalf of Africa.

14. He outlined his plans, including a number of ‘fast track initiatives to boost effectiveness in emergencies, enhance governance, improve communication and resource mobilisation, and pursue better value for money. Beyond these immediate priorities, the groundwork is being laid for widespread changes aimed at strengthening WHO’s capacity to meet the health challenges of the 21st century. He indicated that he has started the process of shaping the next General Programme of Work (GPW) that will guide WHO’s work between 2019 and 2023.

15. Dr Tedros said that it is logical for the next GPW to focus on the SDGs. While there is a single goal on health, he stressed the fact that it either contributes to, or benefits from, almost all the other goals. This implies that some of the biggest health gains will come from improvements outside the health sector. It is therefore essential that WHO engages with partners in all relevant sectors to drive progress. The next GPW proposes the following mission for WHO: ‘to keep the world safe, improve health and serve the vulnerable’.

16. To achieve this mission, the next GPW proposes five strategic priorities, namely: prevent, detect, and respond to epidemics, including polio elimination and combating antimicrobial resistance; provide health services in emergencies and help operate and restore health systems; support Member States to strengthen health systems to achieve UHC; drive progress towards specific SDG health targets; and provide the world’s governance platform for health that will shape the complex global health architecture, a role in which WHO has authority and credibility.

17. He mentioned that managing and monitoring of WHO’s work will focus on outcomes and impact. Thus, a scorecard with key indicators and measurable targets will be developed to monitor the performance.

18. In his official opening address to the Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, President Mugabe, spoke extensively on health development in Zimbabwe and globally over the last 50 years. He noted the health challenges facing the Region such as the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases and maternal and child deaths that require concerted efforts to address. President Mugabe urged the Committee to seek explanations to the prevailing health challenges, and most importantly, to find ways and means of arresting and reversing them.

19. The president reiterated that a sound and prosperous life is predicated on the enjoyment of good health, adding that the interplay between health and development has become evident to all. Therefore there was a need for robust investment in health, using various health financing mechanisms, for example levies on mobile communications. He advocated for the strengthening of health systems, including the empowerment of communities to respond to the growing number and complexity of health issues. Furthermore, he called on African governments to prioritise health in their national development agenda. In conclusion, President Mugabe called for health to be given deserved prominence at the sub-regional, continental and global levels. He then declared open the Sixty-seventh session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa.

20. The Regional Committee unanimously elected the following officers to serve on the Bureau of the Sixty-seventh session of the Regional Committee: Chairperson: Dr Pagwesese David Parirenyatwa Minister of Health and Child Care Zimbabwe First Vice Chairperson: Mr André Mama Fouda Minister of Public Health Cameroon Second Vice-Chairperson: Dr Raymonde Goudou Coffie Minister of Health and Public Hygiene Côte d’Ivoire