Yamoussoukro, 3 September 2011 -- The Sixty-first session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa ended on Friday in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire, with the adoption of four resolutions aimed at improving the health situation in the 46 Member States of WHO in the African Region.

A resolution was adopted by the Ministers of Health on the proposed African Public Health Emergency Fund (APHEF) – a major agenda item at this year's meeting. This set the annual recommended contribution of Member States to the Fund at a total of US$50 million.

The ministers endorsed the designation of the African Development Bank as the trustee for the management of the Fund, and the domiciliation of a revolving fund with a limit of US$30 million at the WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, was requested to accelerate the process of operationalizing APHEF, and continue to advocate with Heads of State and Government, the African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to ensure that the ministers' resolution on the establishment of APHEF is introduced to the AU for endorsement by African Heads of States.

On country contributions to APHEF, the Regional Committee urged Member States to ensure the creation of a budget line for yearly contributions to the Fund, and continue advocacy for its sustenance with the AU and RECs, and at national and international levels.

Also adopted by the meeting was a framework for public health adaptation to climate change. The ministers specifically requested the Regional Director to establish a Pan African Programme for Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change with a view to leveraging and coordinating international-level technical and financial assistance for the development and implementation of national action plans for public health adaptation to climate change.

Other actions requested of the Regional Director include collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and other technical agencies to develop and disseminate technical tools for the implementation of the Framework to countries.

On polio eradication, the resolution adopted by the ministers urged countries where poliovirus continues to circulate or is newly detected to declare the persistence of polio a national public health emergency and to systematically engage all leaders, including political, traditional and other community leaders, at local and national levels, to ensure that all targeted children are reached during vaccination campaigns.

The resolution on polio specifically urged countries with re-established transmission of wild poliovirus (Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo), and endemic for polio virus (Nigeria), to implement priority actions articulated in their emergency plans aimed at ensuring the interruption of poliovirus as soon as possible.

Still on polio, Member States in general were urged to achieve and maintain routine immunization coverage of at least 90%, strengthen cross-border collaboration in enhancing the quality of immunization and surveillance activities, improve the quality of polio eradication supplemental Immunization activities and enhance surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis.

The fourth resolution endorsed a strategy document introduced by Dr Sambo on the elimination of measles in the African Region by 2020.

It urged Member States to develop and adopt national plans for measles elimination in line with the Regional Strategic Plan, provide adequate finances for the implementation of national plans to sustain measles reduction in order to reach the measles pre-elimination target by 2012; mobilize all stakeholders and coordinate all actions in the measles elimination effort; generate reliable and updated population data for use in monitoring measles immunization coverage, and ultimately achieve measles elimination by 2020.

In his closing remarks, Dr Sambo commended the participants for the quality of their contributions to discussions and described as a "welcome development" the open and frank exchange between Ministers of Health and Finance during the panel discussion on health financing and sessions that took place on the sidelines of the main Regional Committee meeting.

The Regional Director made reference to the decision to establish the APHEF and expressed his conviction that the Fund would respond to the needs of Member States facing disease outbreaks or humanitarian crises.

He described as "historic" the establishment during the meeting, of the African Federation of Public Health Associations (AFPHA), and called on Ministers of Health and Finance to support national public health associations which make up the Fed-eration. At the launch of AFPHA on 31. August, its newly elected President, Dr Mathias Some, had pledged to work with ministries of health in Africa to improve national health systems, establish health observatories and develop strategies based on public health principles.

Closing the meeting, the Ivorian Minister of Health , Prof. Therese Ddri-Yoman, said she was satisfied that the five-day meeting had discussed and made recommendations on some of the issues that touch at the very heart of health in Africa – health system strengthening, health financing for priority interventions such as polio and maternal and child health.

" I am of the conviction that one of the most effective and sustainable ways of reducing the heavy disease burden in Africa is placing the right emphasis on capacity building in terms of human, financial, technical and technological resources", she said.

The Sixty-second session of the Regional Committee will be held from 27 – 31 August 2012 in Luanda, Angola.

For more information, please contact:

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Samuel AJIBOLA, WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville,
Tel: +47 241 39378
E-mail: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int (ajibolas[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)

José CAETANO, HIP/Angola,
Tel: in Yamoussoukro: (+ 225) 48827354
E-mail: caetanoj [at] ao.afro.who.int (caetanoj[at]ao[dot]afro[dot]who[dot]int)

Souleymane KONE, HIP/ Cote d'Ivoire,
Tel: ++225 22517200, Mobile: +225 07148393
E-mail: kones [at] ci.afro.who.int (kones[at]ci[dot]afro[dot]who[dot]int) ou Koneso [at] who.int (Koneso[at]who[dot]int)