Johannesburg, 5 September 2003 -- The 53rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa ended Friday in Johannesburg with the adoption of six resolutions, including one endorsing a strategy on women's health which focuses on the health conditions that are exclusive to, or more prevalent in, women. 

Johannesburg, 4 September -- Almost half of the 600,000 pregnancy-related deaths recorded worldwide occur in Africa which has only 12% of the worlds population, and only 17% of the global annual births, says a discussion paper to be reviewed at a roundtable of African health and development experts and officials scheduled for Thursday in Johannesburg. 

Johannesburg, 3 September -- Man-made disasters and natural hazards such as armed conflicts, floods, drought, famine, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions cost Africa $15 billion in 2002. 

Johannesburg, 3 September -- Food-borne illness presents a major and continuing challenge to Africa as it adversely affects health, lowers economic productivity, and in several cases results in death and disability. 
This is contained in a report presented Monday by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Ebrahim M. Samba, to the 53rd session of WHO Regional Committee for Africa taking place from 1 to 5 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Johannesburg, 3 September 2003 -- Mortality rate from road traffic accident injuries in Africa is the highest in the world, costing the Region $7.3 billion or 1% of its Gross Domestic Product annually, the World Health Organization says in a report released Monday in Johannesburg. 

Johannesburg, 3 September 2003 -- The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa has developed a strategy aimed at contributing to the attainment, by women in the Region, of the highest possible level of health throughout their lifespan. 
The specific objectives of the strategy are to support Member States to:

Johannesburg, 3 September 2003 -- Preventive measures and response mechanisms put in place by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States have helped to check the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Africa, says a report released Monday in Johannesburg by the World Health Organization. 

Johannesburg, 1 September -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and its Member States in the African Region have made definite progress towards polio eradication, with the Region attaining certification level surveillance for the first time in 2002, and the number of polio-endemic countries reduced by 67%, from six in 2001 to two in 2002, WHO says in a report released on Monday. 

Johannesburg, 1 September 2003 -- African governments have been urged to increase funding for their health sectors, allocate more funds to hospitals, desist from embarking on 'prestigious' health projects, and focus more on the viability, usefulness, equity and sustainability of health investments. 
These recommendations are contained in a report prepared by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa for Health Ministers meeting for their 53rd Regional Committee for Africa session from 1 to 5 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Johannesburg, 1 September -- The 53rd session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa (RC53) opened Monday in Johannesburg with a call on WHO and its Member States to seriously address the challenges of overburdened health care systems in the Region, the loss of skilled health staff to developed countries, and the prevailing inequity brought about by the wide and growing gap between poor and rich countries.