Every year on 31 May, we mark World No Tobacco Day to highlight the risks associated with tobacco use and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco use. The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship”.
It draws attention to the wrong message of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship that portray the image that tobacco use is a fashionable or a desirable social habit. This impedes efforts to educate people about the harms of tobacco use. The many forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship create an illusion that tobacco is just an ordinary consumer product, and hides the fact that it is a product that kills.
]]>Increased domestic and external funding is needed to ensure that adequate quantities of commodities, including Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets, Insecticides, rapid tests, microscopes, reagents and antimalarial medicines are accessible and used rationally.
Improved human environment including housing programmes should be expanded in order to defeat malaria and other vector transmitted diseases.
Strong political commitment such as demonstrated by the African Union African Leaders Malaria Aliance (ALMA) andthe international health partnerships is essential to provide leadership and support.
As we commemorate World Malaria Day, I call upon everyone to join the fight to defeat malaria. Politicians, parliamentarians, Governments, private sector officials, civil society, faith-based organizations and the mass media should support community-based anti-malaria actions.
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Every year, the World celebrates Malaria Day on 25th of April. From now until 2015, the Global community has agreed on the theme: INVEST IN THE FUTURE: DEFEAT MALARIA. This theme reflects the need for firm accelerated action to defeat malaria as we move towards the deadline set for the Millennium Development Goals.
Over the past decade, countries in the African Region have made commendable progress in the prevention and control of malaria. The World Malaria Report 2012 indicates a 33% decrease in malaria deaths in Africa. During the same period, an estimated 1.1 million malaria deaths were averted. It is also encouraging to note that one fifth of the countries in the region are on track to meet the 2015 target of 75% reduction in malaria burden.
Furthermore, we welcome ongoing efforts of the 8 Southern African countries (‘Elimination 8’) that are jointly coordinating their activities to eliminate malaria as well as other cross-border and Island initiatives to expand malaria free areas.
Although these ongoing efforts have contributed towards improvement in child survival, improved maternal health and the welfare of individuals, families, communities and affected countries,
This home-grown initiative has an overarching goal of strengthening immunization programmes in the African Region by drawing attention to, and increasing awareness of the importance of every person’s (particularly every child’s and woman’s) need and right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
This ambitious goal is very clearly captured in the theme chosen for this year’s observance: “Save lives, Prevent disabilities, Vaccinate!”
Over the next seven days, participating countries will undertake a variety of activities that will: raise awareness on the life-saving value of immunization; seek to increase vaccination coverage; reach underserved, marginalized and hard-to-reach populations with existing and new high impact child survival packages and other life-saving interventions.
It is gratifying to note that that since we started celebrating Vaccination Week three years ago, 40 countries in our Region are participating in this historic initiative, signaling to the world that immunization is a regional and national priority.
I am proud to say that the African Region is making good progress in addressing vaccine-preventable diseases.
We have achieved an 89% reduction in measles mortality between 2000 and 2009. The elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus had been validated
]]>It should be noted that the TB epidemic in Africa is largely driven by factors related to poverty and the negative effects of TB and HIV co-infection. People living with HIV are more likely than others to become sick with TB. According to the Global Tuberculosis Report of 2012, 46% of those who had TB in 2011 were HIV positive and sadly, only 46% of them received the WHO recommended anti-retroviral treatment.
On a positive
This has been a very fruitful three-day meeting. It served as a useful platform to exchange information, experiences and ideas in tackling the risk factors associated with NCDs in the African environment.
I am happy that we could conduct this forum as well as hold the debates in a structured manner as planned. I recognize the quality and high participation of the experts and the different stakeholders attending this dialogue over the past three days.
We followed very carefully the contributions during the plenaries and working groups. There is no doubt that this forum provided insights that triggered new ideas about how best to move forward in this regional undertaking – to enable us to put Health Promotion higher in the agendas of the government, Ministries of Health and health stakeholders in general.
Allow me to share with you some of the main highlights as we perceived during the Dialogue.
In relation to the harmful use of alcohol:
The delegates widely recognized that the majority of people in the region are not well-informed about
Good morning! It is a great pleasure and honour for me to be here on the occasion of this multi-stakeholders dialogue on risk factors associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
I wish to thank the Government of the Republic of South Africa for hosting this first-ever event. We are indebted to your leadership, Hon Minister of Health, and your team, for all of the support provided to organize this gathering.
Non-communicable diseases are on the rise in the African Region. At the same time, we face the unfinished business of major communicable diseases and maternal and child health problems. We have many priorities that compete for limited resources and time. However, we must take action to address the rising burden of NCDs in Africa.
In our Region, the main NCDs include cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory illnesses, diabetes, cancer, and the consequences of violence and road traffic accidents. Addressing the common risk factors can prevent these diseases
Cancer is a disease that occurs when abnormal cells within any part of the human body continuously grow out of control. The chances of developing most cancers is related to modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, overweight and some chronic infections. It is advisable to live a healthy lifestyle to prevent the onset of the disease.
Cancer is a real public health problem that kills many people in the African Region. It is estimated that about 12.4% of African Region’s 804 million inhabitants will develop cancer before the age of 75. The risk increases with age while 90% of cancer cases will occur after the age of 40. If we act now we can save about 100,000 lives annually by 2020.
Unfortunately
]]>It is my great pleasure today to warmly welcome you to Brazzaville for the 66th session of the FISCA Council. I am particularly delighted that you have chosen to hold this year’s session at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, following last year’s session at the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Since its creation in 1952, the Federation of the International Civil Servants’ Association FICSA has played an important role in promoting the concept of an international civil service and to ensure equitable employment conditions for all staff of the United Nations system. I was very pleased to find out that the WHO staff association is one of the first members of the FISCA, and the Federation now groups 29 staff associations/unions representing the interests of about 50 000 international civil servants worldwide.
One
17 December 2012, Monrovia, Liberia
On behalf of the Director General of WHO – Dr Margaret Chan, it’s an honour for me to address this distinguished audience. I wish, first of all, to express my sincere appreciation to the Government of Liberia for hosting this important event, the launch of the Women’s Health Report, the first ever developed for the African Region and the 2012 World Malaria Report.
We are meeting at an opportune time when the urgent need to address the health challenges facing women continues to dominate international and national agendas. The very maternal mortality ratio, the High burden of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, gender-based violence and other harmful practices, cervical cancer and other non-communicable diseases are critical barriers to the socio-economic development of women.
]]>My first words turn to greet everybody with respect and happiness and to say how much we have been overwhelmed since our arrival in Cameroon by the warmth of the welcome and the kindness shown to us. You surely know how to welcome your guests!
I thank especially the President of Cameroun, His Excellency Mr Paul Biya for his personal sponsorship of the celebration of the 50 years of cooperation between the government of Cameroon and the World Health Organization. I equally thank the Minister of Public Health for inviting me to take part in these celebrations as well as the Minister ]]>
There are more than 22 million people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and over half of them are women. Over 75% of women and 85% of children living with HIV worldwide are in the African Region. In the African Region, HIV/AIDS has claimed so many lives and largely contributed to a reduction of life expectancy with grave social and economic consequences.
Over the years, some progress has been made in the fight against the pandemic in our Region. Significant financial investments have been made in the HIV/AIDS response, affordable drugs and commodities have been made more accessible to all countries, innovative service delivery approaches have been expanded, activism has enhanced the visibility of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and communities have been at the forefront of the response.
These efforts have contributed to a reduction in the number of new HIV infections in 22 countries in the WHO African Region. In 2011, nearly 6.2 million people were receiving treatment in the Region, compared with just 100 000 in 2003. The increased
]]>It is with deep emotion and an immense feeling of pride that I am addressing this august assembly on this occasion of the opening of the Sixty-second session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, here in Luanda, Republic of Angola. I have this feeling of pride for the fact that after recently emerging from a situation of war with tragic consequences, Angola has risen up to the challenge of organizing the present session of the Regional Committee and has mobilized substantial resources to that end. The hospitality shown to the delegates of Member States and the representatives of the many
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