Brazzaville, 20 February 2011 - The World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Dr Luis Sambo has urged countries in the Central African Region to scale up efforts towards improving the health of populations. Dr Sambo was speaking at the 3rd meeting of Ministers of health of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) which ended in Brazzaville, Congo, on Saturday 19 February 2011.

Noting that there is an acute shortage of health workers in most of the ten-member ECCAS countries, he called for the reopening of the Brazzaville-based Central African Public Health School which has not functioned since 1997.

The Regional Director referred to recurrent epidemics and existing risk of emerging diseases in the Congo River basin saying “It is necessary to pay adequate attention to potential public health events and cooperate with institutions including WHO which are working to provide a better understanding of the risk and to develop adequate approaches for preparedness and response.”

He highlighted the important role of Centres of Excellence in contributing to strengthening laboratory capacity, epidemiological surveillance, research and the training of scientists among others. He also expressed concern about the lack of adequate resources to effectively address disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies and reiterated his call for the creation of the African Public Health Emergency Fund (APHEF).

Speaking on the relationship between health and the environment, he noted that the Equatorial forest of the Central African region, the second largest in the world, plays an important part in the absorption of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To this end, he advised ECCAS countries to protect this heritage and take advantage of existing mechanisms for adapting to the phenomenon of climate change.

In addition, Dr Sambo proposed the creation of a Pan African Programme for the Adaptation of Health to Climate Change - an initiative aimed at addressing the negative impact of climate change on the health of people.

He commended the decision of the ECCAS to establish a body which will address health issues in Central Africa, contribute to better harmonisation of policies and public health interventions as well as facilitate technical cooperation among countries. He pledged WHO’s support for the establishment of such a body.

The Regional Director expressed appreciation to Presidents Idris Derby of Chad, Dennis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Ali Bongo Odimba of Gabon, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola and Joseph Kabilla Kabangue of the Democratic Republic of Congo for their personal commitment towards the eradication of poliomielitis and their responses to recent epidemics.

In his remarks, the Minister of Health of Congo, Prof Georges Moyen, stated that the institutionalisation of ECCAS’s annual Health Minister’s forum was both in line with the policy of sub-regional integration being promoted by the African Union, and an appropriate response to health challenges facing countries. By working together, Prof Moyen said, Ministries of Health of countries in the sub-region would be able to take common measures aimed at accelerating progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Speaking in a similar vein, the Deputy Secretary-General of ECCAS, Mr Tchouhgui Roger, said,” Without doubt the creation of a sub-regional health structure in Central Africa should result in: strengthening the co-ordination of our national health policies; the reinforcement of our capacity for surveillance of diseases; strengthening public health interventions in the community; increased budgetary allocations to the health sector at national level and increased financial contributions by Member States and partners to health inter-ventions.”

The Chair of ECCAS Council of Health Ministers, Mrs Toupta Boguena, urged countries to vigorously address the problem of high disease burden which continue to decimate populations. Mrs Boguema, who is also the Health Minister of Chad, called for the training of more health workers to respond to the health needs of people of Central Africa.

Editor’s note:

The ECCAS countries are: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome & Principe and Chad.

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Media contact: AFRO Communications Team Tel: +47-241-39378/ 39420/39352/39382; e-mail: cam [at] afro.who.int (cam[at]afro[dot]who[dot]int)