Mbabane, 2 September 2005 -- AFRO Regional Director concluded his historic visit to Swaziland today. Dr Luis Gomes Sambo made a two days special visit to Swaziland at the invitation of His Majesty King Mswati III’s government following his successful election as WHO Regional Director for Africa late last year. He arrived by road on Wednesday 31st August en route from Maputo soon after the conclusion of the Regional Committee and RPM meetings. He was met at the boarder by the Hon. Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Chief Sipho Shongwe and other senior officials from government. Dr Sambo was accompanied by Dr K. Mbaye and Dr C. N. Bissoonauthsing WR and WLO from Guinea and Mauritius respectively.

At a welcoming function organized by government in honor of the Regional Director’s exceptional visit to the Kingdom of Swaziland, the Honorable Minister for Health and Social Welfare expressed His Majesty’s government’s sincerest gratitude that Dr Sambo could find time, notwithstanding his busy schedule, to visit Swaziland. He congratulated the Regional Director on his overwhelming electoral victory that led to his appointment as Regional Director for WHO in Africa. He pledged government support to the Regional Director’s efforts and initiatives in the African Region at all times. He commended the WHO country office for the invaluable technical support it gives to the health sector.

In his remarks, Dr Sambo stated that he was greatly honored to have been invited to visit the Kingdom of Swaziland. He requested the Honorable Minister to extend his “deepest appreciation to His Majesty for the invitation”. He observed that his tenure as Regional Director comes at a time when Africa has serious health problems and challenges. The challenges take the form of high prevalence of communicable diseases, especially of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria; the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and of the very high levels of maternal and child mortality all of which are responsible for the low life expectancy in the African Region.

Without any doubt HIV is the public health problem that causes the greatest concern on account of its impact on morbidity and mortality and on the economic performance of the Member states of the Region. “I have been fully briefed about the health problems and challenges Swaziland is experiencing and I believe that the country has the opportunity to rise above all the problems and overcome all challenges”, he said. Dr Sambo stressed that collaboration with other UN agencies and NGOs is very critical in harnessing resources and is a singular factor that could make us achieve optimally at all levels of program implementation. “I am optimistic about the future of WHO intervention in Swaziland and I am an ardent believer in team work,” he said.

Dr Sambo paid a courtesy call to the Right Honorable Prime Minister, Mr Themba Dlamini, among others. He entreated and encouraged the Prime Minister to aim for the implementation of the African Union Head of States agreement which calls upon governments to give the health sector at least 15 percent of the national budget. This, he said, “would facilitate a speedy realization of the Millennium Development Goals”. He accentuated the point that the country needed to invest in health. At the moment, Swaziland allocates only 8 percent of the national budget to the health sector.

He noted that, Swaziland, like most other African countries is experiencing the human resources for health problem. He pledged that WHO will assist, as has already become evident, in drawing up action plans and providing lasting solutions. He, however, implored government to work hard and play its role to motivate and retain staff. “This may involve, among other things, improving the working conditions of staff including improved remunerations packages”, he stressed.

The pinnacle of Dr Sambo’s visit to the kingdom of Swaziland found expression in his courtesy call to His Majesty King Mswati III. The King congratulated the Regional Director on his astounding electoral victory that saw him assume the reigns as WHO Regional Director for Africa. He thanked Dr Sambo for accepting and honoring the invitation to the kingdom. The King informed the Regional Director that he was aware of the significant contribution WHO makes to improve the health status of his subjects. For this, he said, he was forever grateful. He requested Dr Sambo to continue to help intensify efforts to arrest the daunting HIV/AIDS problem in Swaziland. Swaziland is among the top countries with the highest HV/AIDS prevalence measured among women attending antenatal care.

In his remarks the Regional Director thanked the King for his invitation to the kingdom. He pledged WHO’s unreserved technical support to address all the country’s priority problems and challenges. On the issue of HIV/AIDS, Dr Sambo referred to the recent declaration that emanated from the Regional Committee Meeting in Mozambique - 2006 has been declared the year of HIV/AIDS prevention. “We shall intensify our efforts to provide appropriate strategies and action plans for implementation to help achieve this goal”, he promised.

The Regional Director’s visit to Swaziland culminated into a ceremony that marked the official opening of two rural clinics at Nkalashane and Tsambokhulu neighboring communities in the Lubombo Region. At this occasion the chief of the area thanked Dr Sambo and the Honorable Minister for Health for coming to the area. He made a passionate appeal to government for development assistance to his area in form of improved road infrastructure and adequate supply of clean water. He informed the Regional Director that people in his area travel over 80KM to the nearest hospital. He lamented that the area has all been recently amenable to drought resulting in burden of poverty and scarcity of food supply.

In his remarks, the Regional Director thanked the people of Swaziland for their warm welcome to him and his delegation. “I was well received by the national authorities, the King, Queen Mother, the Right Honorable Prime Minister, and the Minister for Health and Social Welfare as well as all those I have had the privilege to meet,” he said.

Dr Sambo observed that Swaziland has a good environment for collaboration. He pledged WHO support to improve the country’s health system by way of strengthening the planning and management capacity of the Ministry of Health at central level and other levels of health service delivery. Addressing some of the concerns of the community, especially with regard to the need for clean water supply, the Regional Director called upon the collaborative efforts of other UN agencies, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator to ensure that the community is supplied with clean water. “It is collaborative initiatives such as these that translate coordinated assistance into tangible results in support of government”, he said. He assured partners that WHO will always be committed to fulfill its health mandate.

To the people of Swaziland, the overall impression of the Regional Director’s visit to the kingdom could perhaps be best summed up in the words of an elderly man of Tsambokhulu (89 years old). He had traveled about 7 KM on foot—bare foot, overcoming his walking difficulty, he pulled himself through to witness, in his life time, the official opening of the Tsambokhulu clinic by the Regional Director—“Swaziland, he said, has a friend in the regional office, and we thank him”.