REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Fifty-fifth session Maputo, Mozambique, 22–26 August 2005
AFR/RC55/R2 25 August 2005 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
ACHIEVING THE HEALTH MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: SITUATION ANALYSIS AND PERSPECTIVES IN THE AFRICAN REGION (document AFR/RC55/9) The Regional Committee, Having examined the document entitled “Achieving the health Millennium Development Goals: Situation analysis and perspectives in the African Region”; Recalling the commitments made in the United Nations Millennium Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2000 and the United Nations Secretary-General’s road map towards its implementation; Mindful of Resolution WHA58.30 Accelerating the achievement of the internationally agreed health-related development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration; Recalling relevant Regional Committee resolutions and approved global and regional strategies such as the Road map for maternal and newborn health; health promotion; health and environment; poverty and health; The 3 by 5 Initiative; roll back malaria; DOTS; and others; Recalling World Health Assembly resolutions WHA56.21 on child and adolescent health; WHA57.12 on reproductive health; WHA57.14 on HIV/AIDS; and WHA57.19 on international migration of health personnel, which are all closely related to the attainment of the MDGs; Noting that progress has been slow in spite of some achievements, and that urgent action is needed, especially in addressing health systems strengthening; Mindful of the socioeconomic determinants of health and the need to apply human-rights and gender-based approaches to health in development in order to achieve the MDGs by 2015; Affirming that poverty cannot co-exist with good health; 1. URGES Member States: (a) (b) to develop and implement national “road maps” for the achievement of the MDGs in the context of existing nationally-led development planning frameworks; to strengthen their health systems in order to rapidly scale up implementation of priority health interventions aimed at reducing child mortality (Goal 4), maternal mortality (Goal 5) and morbidity and mortality due to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other priority diseases (Goal 6);
AFR/RC55/R2 Page 2 (c) to strengthen collaboration and partnership among relevant sectors, including ministries of finance, and with international bilateral and multilateral financial and development institutions, on investments in the health sector; to ensure strong stewardship and leadership for scaling up effective strategies and interventions in preventive and curative services, emphasizing primary health care and a multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach in providing health care; to strengthen systems for surveillance and control of new and re-emerging diseases and other health conditions that could erode the impact of efforts to achieve the MDGs; to urgently address the training, recruitment and retention of appropriate health professionals in countries; to fulfil their commitment to allocate at least 15% of annual national budgets to the health sector as agreed in the Abuja Declaration of 2001; to address issues of health and development in their discussions with development partners;
(d)
(e) (f) (g) (h) 2.
REQUESTS the Regional Director: (a) to support countries to conduct needs assessments to gauge the level of health systems strengthening and the investments required to achieve the health MDGs in the context of national strategic plans; to advocate for more resources to be allocated and disbursed to health; to engage in technical and policy dialogue with international financial institutions on the impact of their policies on poverty and health; to support the training, recruitment and retention of appropriate health professionals in countries; to provide technical support to countries in the scaling up of interventions to reduce child mortality (Goal 4), maternal mortality (Goal 5), and morbidity and mortality due to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other priority diseases (Goal 6); to support countries in the use of appropriate monitoring and evaluation frameworks in order to keep track of progress in achieving the health MDGs; to report to the fifty-seventh Regional Committee, and thereafter every other year, on progress made in the attainment of the specified outcomes. Eighth meeting, 25 August 2005
(b) (c) (d) (e)
(f) (g)