Date: 2017-06-18 14:15:01 ID: 1650

Abuja, Nigeria ' June 15, 2017 ' The West African Health Organization (WAHO) organized as part of the meetings leading to the 18th Assembly of ECOWAS Health Ministers, a Partners Forum at the ECOWAS Commission.

The meeting which was attended by several partners such as WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, NEPAD, was expected to draft proposals for roadmap on hospital reform, maternal and child health for adoption by the Ministers on Friday.

Declaring the session open, WAHO Director General said the focus is on Maternal and Child Health as well as fighting communicable and non-communicable diseases in the region. He announced that the sum of $150 million has been raised in the last two years to fund critical health projects across the region.

'??So, we have managed to get more than $150 million over the last two years to support our programs which is mainly how we can better control diseases in our countries. Non-communicable disease first and then communicable disease'??; he mentioned and he later quizzed '??How we can fight epidemic in our region'??.

He confided that the Ebola crisis in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea exposed the weaknesses of our health system and as such, they now have as a goal '??to improve the health situation of our people'??. He continued by saying that '??our main objective under this project is how to have more resources for our countries to contribute to reduction of maternal and child mortality rate'??.

He mentioned that it was also important for WAHO as '??a regional body to have partners who can help these countries to strengthen our health system and laboratories'??.

Other areas of interest include nutrition where the purpose is to improve the nutrition of mother and child by improving the vitamin A. Dr Crespin also stressed the importance of demography, population and health.

'??As you know, our population is growing fast, it is necessary to have mother-child program. So there are several projects. How we can get our laboratories improved'??, Dr Crespin told journalists here in Abuja.

Speaking further on the ongoing projects, WAHO DG said, '??The projects are not one time project. Some are three years or four years program. Each year we have a review to see the implementation but also to see the level of mobilization of fund.

Par HARVEY, Plaidoyer & Communication