Mauritius News

The efforts made by the Republic of Mauritius and its commitment and leadership in the African Region were recognized by the World Health Organization during the World No-Tobacco Day 2019.   Dr Hon Anwar Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life received the ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ from Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius on behalf of Dr Tedros, Director General and Dr Moeti, Regional Director of the World Health Organization during the celebration of the event on 30 May 2019 at S. Virahsawmy State Secondary School in Rivière du Rempart. 

All were set for the members of the public present at Roche Bois Youth Centre to start the road cycling activity ‘Pédaler en toute securité', organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders on 13 May 2019.  The objectives of the activity were to encourage the population to practice cycling on a regular basis as a leisure activity and for physical fitness.  It also aimed at creating public awareness on road safety and cycling as a safe and healthy form of transportation.   Hon. Mr Stephan Toussaint, Minister of Youth and Sports, Lord Mayor of Port Louis, Mr Daniel Laurent and Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius, all dressed in sports-wear and on their bike, started the cycling trip from Roche Bois Youth Centre to City Centre in  Port Louis.  People from different age groups responded positively to the invitation and cycled some 14 kilometres in the streets of Port Louis.

The UNCT Family Retreat, held at the Savoy Hotel in the idyllic island of Seychelles, spread over one week, with the participation of delegates from diverse UN Organisations and Government Officials uniting for the first time to achieve as ‘Delivering as One’.  The retreat aimed at building on the lessons learnt from the previous years, agreeing on the UNCT’s collective strategic engagement within the context of regional framework, UN reform and support both countries to achieve SDGs.   Given the high level of engagement of the stakeholders and the regional dimension of the event, the UNCT retreat this year welcomed a panoply of personalities namely, Heads of Agencies, Agencies Focal Persons, Regional Directors, Regional Coordinators and WHO Representatives from four countries of the sub-region.

His Excellency, the President of Seychelles, Mr Danny Faure welcomed the UN delegation for a courtesy visit in the morning of Tuesday April 16, 2019 at the State House of Seychelles. H.E. Mr D. Faure acknowledged the commitment of the UN delegation, lead respectively by Dr. Julitta Onabanjo, Regional Director, East and Southern Africa of UNFPA and Her Excellency Ambassador Christine Umutoni, UN Resident Coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles. The delegation also comprised Regional Directors from UNESCO and UNWTO, and Heads of UN agencies of four countries namely Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles who will participate in the UN Retreat.

The Seasonal Influence Vaccination Programme for 2019 was officially launched on 11 April 2019 by Dr Hon. Anwar Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life at Dr. Hyderkhan Mediclinic in Plaine-Verte, Mauritius. The event was attended by the general population and other relevant personalities including Dr. Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius who sets the example by receiving the first influenza vaccine for this year-round. In his speech, Dr Hon A. Husnoo, Health Minister, pointed out that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends influenza vaccinations be offered on a routine basis every year, particularly to people at risk of influenza complications and those who live with or care for individuals at risk, as influenza is highly contagious and can rapidly spiral into serious impediments.  He added that the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life is targeting people at risk of influenza complications, but all citizens can benefit from the seasonal influenza vaccination programme as a preventive measure.

April 10, 2019. WCO Port Louis. World Health Day 2019 was celebrated on April 08 at the Trianon Convention Centre in Quatre Bornes, Mauritius. This year emphasis was laid on the theme, ‘Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere.’ In attendance, Dr Hon. Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, showing great personal commitment in the fight against NCDs.  The latter launched the Non-Communicable Diseases and Risk Factors booklet on that occasion.  Dr Hon. P. Jugnauth is actively participating in the National Sensitization Campaign since the celebration of the World Mental Health Day in 2017. Also in attendance, Dr. Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius; Dr Hon. A. Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life; Mr. D. Seesungkur, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr. P. Koonjoo, Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, Mrs. L. D. Dookhun- Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research and Mr. M. S. Hurreeram, the Private Parliamentary Secretary. Other attendees included more than three n students from one hundred and fifty-six schools, parliamentary officers and teachers from schools all over the island.  World Health Organization is promoting an integrated approach to tackle NCDS with the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, including key ministries, NGO’s and civil society.

More than 400 economists, financing and policy experts from more than 40 countries of the African region and other continents are participating in the 5th biennial international conference of African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) that is being held from 11th to 14th March at Kempinski Gold Coast in Ghana in collaboration with Ministry of Health, Ghana, Ghana Health Services, University of Ghana and Centre for health policy and systems research GIMPA. World Health Organization is also one of the partners supporting this conference. The theme for this year conference is ‘Securing PHC for all: The foundation for making progress on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Africa’. The conference will deliberate on strategies towards attainment of UHC in the continent, and seek to suggest Primary Healthcare (PHC) as the most important first step towards reaching this goal within various African countries.

For the first time in the country, the Government of Mauritius and UN have join hands together in view of building partnership for sustainable development through the elaboration of the Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF), a five year plan that will be implemented as from 2019.  The SPF was validated by wide range of key partners during a workshop held in Port Louis on 7th March 2019.   An overview of the SPF and its implementation plan was presented by the Government of Mauritius and UN team in the presence of the relevant stakeholders from the Government of Mauritius, key Ministries, Civil Society, Academia, Private Sector, Bilateral and Multilateral agencies. High level Official from the Prime Minister’s Office during his welcome address emphasized on the relevance of the joint collaboration of the Government of Mauritius and the UN for sustainable development as well as its contribution towards the National Vision 2030.  The UN Resident Coordinator Mrs Christine Umutoni during her opening remark highlighted the high level commitment of both the Government of Mauritius and UN in working together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  The latter stated that such kind of partnership helps agencies to collaborate jointly to support the Government of Mauritius through a multisectoral approach.

Every year the World Cancer Day is marked globally on 4th of February to raise awareness and educate the population across the globe about cancer and unite efforts be it governments or individuals to take action against the disease to save millions of preventable deaths.  In Mauritius, the World Cancer Day was marked this year under the theme ‘I Am And I Will’ on 12 February 2019 at Roche Bois Social Welfare Centre.  On this occasion, Dr Hon. Anwar Husnoo, Minister of Health and Quality of Life launched a series of activities in view of sensitizing people on the prevention and control of cancer in the country.  Eminent personalities namely the Lord Major of the Municipal Council of Port Louis, Mr Daniel Eric Clive Laurent and Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Representative in Mauritius were present during the official launching of the activities. Dr Hon.  A.  Husnoo , in his speech, stated his appreciation that a large number of people was attending the launching of activities and he added that ‘this is an indication that people are aware of the magnitude of the problem and they show their interest  in participating in the  national prevention and control programme against cancer that is being carried out by the Ministry.’  Right at the start, the Health Minister expressed his concern on the rising number of new cancer cases in Mauritius.  According to the Cancer Registry, there were 2500 new cases of cancer in 2015 and the number of death due to cancer has also increased.  In fact, 13.3% of deaths in 2015 in Mauritius were due to cancer and in Rodrigues, the figure was 14.3%. 

A delegation from St Helena Island, a British Overseas territory in the Atlantic Ocean, is on a Study Tour in Mauritius from 07 to 19 January 2019 to learn from the country’s experiences in the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.  On the first day, the delegation met Dr Laurent Musango, the WHO Representative in Mauritius to discuss the supporting role of WHO in facilitating the sharing of experiences between the two islands.  The members of the delegation then had a meeting with the technical team at the WHO local office to understand the NCD situation in the country and for an update on measures taken so far in view of reducing the NCD burden.  In the afternoon, the mission team had a meeting with the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr. Hon. Anwar Husnoo and the high level officials.  The expected outcomes of the study tour and possibilities of cooperation between the two islands were discussed.