Brazzaville, 25 October 2006 -- Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the West African Monetary Union (UEMOA), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), the East, Central and Southern African Health Community (ECSA), and the Organization for the Coordination of the Fight Against Edemies in Central Africa (OCEAC) have ended a two day meeting in Brazzaville pledging to strengthen partnerships among them, the African Union (AU), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

The 19-20 October meeting, a follow up to the first meeting in April 2005 of WHO, the AU, ECA and RECs, made a number of recommendations and suggested follow up action to advance the common agenda of institutional and technical cooperation to improve the health situation in the African Region.

The meeting recommended that AFRO and the African Union should finalize and sign a Framework Agreement to serve as a foundation for an all-embracing partnership.

Delegates also recommended that WHO should coordinate the finalization of an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding to be signed by all partners as a precursor to the finalization and signing of other pending agreements.

Other recommendations adopted by the meeting related to:

• Strengthening collaboration and partnerships among RECs in different sub regions.
• Developing and strengthening cooperation and collaboration between WHO’s Inter-Country Support Teams (in Harare, Libreville, and Ouagadougou) and RECs.
• Enhancing information sharing through creating linkages between the websites of partners, among others
• Support by WHO and RECs to countries in their fight against counterfeit and substandard drugs
• Taking the gender dimension into account in generating evidence for policy and programmes
• Support by WHO and RECs to countries in developing and implementing programmes to address sexual and gender-based violence, particularly violence against women and the girl-child.

The meeting, organized under the theme “Strengthening WHO Strategic Partnership for Health: Assessment and the New Ways forward”, was attended by 35 participants from WHO, UEMOA, OCEAC, WAHO, and ECSA.

For more information contact: 

Technical contact

Mr Bernadino Cardoso

Tel: + 47 241 39322 

E-mail: cardosob [at] afro.who.int

Media Contact 

Mr. Samuel T. Ajibola

Tel: + 47 241 39378

Email : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int