Brazzaville, Congo -- Ministers of Health from the 47 Member States of WHO in the African Region ended their 63rd session on Friday in Brazzaville, Congo, with the adoption of resolutions endorsing five reports - on women’s health, HIV, eHealth, traditional medicine, the health of elderly people, Rules of Procedure of the Regional Committee and a regional strategy on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). 

The Ministers observed that 44% of deaths among women worldwide occur in the African Region mainly due to communicable diseases, pregnancy-or childbirth-related complications and nutritional deficiencies. To address this they adopted a resolution calling on countries to, among others, give priority to women in their development agendas, remove barriers to women’s access to financial resources, property and health care and empower women through education. 

The resolution stems from a report of the Commission on Women’s Health in the African Region entitled “Addressing the Challenge of Women’s Health in Africa” that highlights the need for a life-course approach to achieve rapid and sustainable improvements in women’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. 

Regarding the health of elderly people, the Ministers noted with deep concern that health systems in the Region have not been prepared to respond to the needs of the rapidly ageing population. A resolution was adopted urging countries to prioritize and put measures in place that, among others: promote healthy ageing at every stage of a person’s life course; address the specific health problems related to the ageing of women and men; protect the elderly in emergency situations and address their nutritional needs in order to ensure food security.

Noting that, a significant proportion of the population in the African Region, use traditional medicine for their health care needs, the Ministers endorsed a report and a resolution to enhance the role of traditional medicine in health systems. Among the actions expected from countries are: ensuring that traditional medicine products are safe, affordable and accessible; protecting intellectual property rights with a view to preserving traditional medicine knowledge and resources. Other actions include strengthening human resources capacity for development of traditional medicine; promoting and organizing large-scale cultivation and conservation of well-researched medicinal plants and enhancing collaboration among stakeholders in various sectors.

Efforts to rid the African Region of NTDs received a significant boost with the adoption of a resolution and a regional NTD strategy. The resolution called on countries to include NTDs in the post-2015 national development agenda, ensure adequate resources and intensify actions against NTDs at all levels. The need for countries to provide leadership in establishing and strengthening integrated national NTD programmes along with coordinating mechanisms was emphasized.

The Health Ministers also adopted a resolution on HIV calling on countries to adapt their national antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines to WHO’s new guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for HIV prevention and control. The new WHO guidelines, published in June this year, recommend among others, early treatment for people living with HIV and the promotion of treatment for HIV-infected children under five years of age as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women.

In adopting the resolution, the Ministers urged countries to invest more in HIV response by mobilizing adequate domestic and international resources and improve procurement and supply of drugs and other commodities. They also called on countries to decentralize HIV services; integrate and link HIV services with sexual and reproductive health, child health, tuberculosis and other related services.  

Other issues discussed by the Ministers included: progress made by countries in protecting people from the effects of tobacco use; networking of public health research institutions, the management of cancers, the implementation of the Region’s 2009 – 2013 immunization strategic plan, the Global Vaccine Action Plan and the Polio Endgame and ongoing reforms at WHO.

During the weeklong meeting, many countries reported on actions taken or underway at national level to implement WHO's recommendations, including the implementation of activities to strengthen health systems towards universal health care. The Ministers of Health also reviewed the Organizations' activities during the past biennium and adopted its proposed Programme of Work and Budget for 2014-15. South Sudan was admitted to WHO African Region during the Conference, bringing the Regional Organization’s membership to 47 countries.

The five-day meeting was attended by Health Ministers (or their representatives), senior WHO officials including WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan; WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis G. Sambo; representatives of bilateral and multilateral organizations including IGOs, NGOs and Funds and Programmes of the United Nations System as well as other institutions and organizations working to improve the health situation in Africa.

The 64th session of the Regional Committee is expected to be held in Cotonou, Benin in 2014.