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Date
: 31/08/2004
Source: Department of Health
Title: M Tshabalala-Msimang: Handing over of the WHO/AFRO
Chair
SPEECH BY HEALTH MINISTER, DR TSHABALALA-MSIMANG, AT THE HANDING
OVER OF THE WHO/AFRO CHAIR, 31 August 2004
Chairperson
Director General
Regional Director
Honourable Ministers
Distinguished delegates
All protocol observed
Let me start by congratulating the chairperson for her/his election
to take over the reigns from me.
Honourable Ministers let me once again thank you, on behalf of the
people of South Africa, for giving South Africa the opportunity to
host the 53rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa. It
was indeed our pleasure to have you in Johannesburg.
Allow me to pay tribute to Dr Samba for his visionary and steadfast
leadership of this organisation and innumerable achievements of the
organisation during his term of office. I'm sure that this
organisation will continue to benefit from his immense
experience
Let me also pay tribute to you, Honourable Ministers for the
sterling work during this past year since the last regional
committee meeting. Your achievements include among other things a
successful outcome of the last World Health Assembly, mainly due to
the improved co-ordination of the African Group. We are indeed the
envy of most if not all the regions of World Health Organisation
(WHO).
It was through your direct involvement and unity within our region
that we were able to emerge with strong resolutions such as
migration of health personnel, Reproductive health, Health
promotion and healthy lifestyles and many others of importance to
our region.
Despite these achievements, we remain with a number of challenges
including:
1. Ensuring effective implementation of the Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FTCT). In this regard we all have a duty to ensure
that our countries ratify the convention as matter of urgency. We
need to continue our coordinated efforts and intensify the fight
together against tobacco use. The support from WHO in general and
from WHO-Afro in this regard is critical.
2. Addressing the issue of human cloning. You will recall that the
AU heads of State and Government passed a resolution to come up
with a common position for Africa on Human Cloning. It is therefore
critical for us to accelerate efforts towards this end.
3. HIV and AIDS, which remains a challenge, particularly in Africa.
It cannot be overemphasised however that it is through
strengthening of the health systems that we can win this war.
4. Another challenge is that of continuing to address gender
representivity at all levels in the organisation. It is through a
truly representative organisation that we can excel.
Way Forward
1. Let us seize the opportunity during this African Millennium to
take charge of our own destiny, we should mature and become
self-reliant and avoid being dictated to by the outside
world.
2. To achieve the above, it calls for stronger interaction and
coordination between WHO-AFRO, the African Union and other regional
and sub-regional structures. To this end, WHO-AFRO should intensify
its efforts to implement the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD)
3. Armed conflicts continue to undermine our health systems and
negatively affect vulnerable groups in particular women, children
and people with disability. We therefore must ensure strengthening
of WHO's health action in crisis programme and solidarity among
Member States during times of crisis and disease outbreaks.
4. From time to time we will be called upon to strengthen
multilateral action both regionally and globally in order to
protect the sovereignty of Member States and our African
heritage.
As we bid farewell to Dr Samba, I want to wish all the candidates
for the position of regional director well in their interviews. I
believe that among them we have the calibre of leaders who are
capable of further taking this organisation to higher levels.
May I finally take this opportunity to wish the chair of the 54th
session of WHO-Afro and the regional director well in directing
this organisation. South Africa stands ready and willing to be of
assistance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in pursuit
of health for all in our continent.
Issued by: Department of Health
31 August 2004
Source: Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za)
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