Brazzaville, 8 June 2005 -- WHO Director-General Emeritus, Dr Halfdan Mahler, has made an impassioned plea to the international community to stage a “frontal attack on poverty” while at the same time earnestly embracing the principle of “distributive justice” in health care, especially in developing countries.

Speaking Tuesday in Brazzaville at a special consultation of regional and 

global health personalities charting the course of WHO action Africa over the next five years, Dr Mahler sketched his vision of a world of the future in which Africa’s poor have improved access to quality health services.

He exhorted the management of WHO, which he headed from 1973 to 1988, to continue to actively play its constitutionally assigned role which is to “act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work.”

In his remarks the immediate past WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim Samba commended his successor, Dr Luis Sambo, for conceiving superb strategic orientations to guide WHO action in the African Region during 2005 – 2009.

Dr G. Monekosso, who preceded Dr Samba in office paid tribute to Dr Mahler who, he said, brought the world ”a giant step forward” through his role in conceiving and facilitating the adoption of the Alma Ata Declaration.

Alluding to the high and increasing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases especially HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa, Dr Monekosso said the new WHO Regional Director for Africa had a “heavy responsibility to save Africa from disappearing”. He offered to continue to assist the Regional Office in its effort to help improve the health situation in Africa.

Declaring the meeting open, Dr Sambo paid tribute to Dr Mahler, Known as the father of Primary Health Care, and Drs Samba and Monekosso as well as Dr Alfred Quenum (the second WHO Regional Director for Africa) whose solid achievements in Office he was consolidating and building upon.

Dr Sambo called on the meeting to propose new initiatives and innovative strategies that will help stem and reverse the high morbidity and mortality rates in the region.

For further information contact: 

Samuel T. Ajibola

Tél: + 47 241 39378

Email : ajibolas [at] afro.who.int