Date: 2017-09-25 13:35:02 ID: 1715
The 2018 Programmes Committee meeting started in Lome (Togo) this Monday 25 September 2017, in the presence of representatives of the Ministries of health of ECOWAS countries, some members of the ECOWAS desk of the Ministries for regional integration, the financial controller of ECOWAS institutions, and several members of staff of WAHO.
The opening ceremony, which took place in the presence of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Togo, Mr LAMPO Garba, was marked by three speeches: that of the Commissioner in charge of microeconomics, that of the DG of WAHO, and finally that of the representative of the Minister of health and social protection of Togo.
The Commissioner in charge of microeconomics at the ECOWAS Commission, on behalf of then President of the Commission, thanked WAHO for inviting the Commission to this important planning meeting. After presenting the regional situation characterised by scarcity of resources at the community level, the Commissioner commended WAHO for the significant mobilisation of resources from partners and exhorted the Organisation to establish a good programmes monitoring and evaluation system. He finally wished the meeting success and assured WAHO of the Commission’s support to its priority programmes.
The DG of WAHO, Dr Xavier CRESPIN, after thanking the high authorities of Togo, commended the presence of the Commissioner, the Financial Controller of the Community’s Institutions and some members of the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC). He thereafter recalled the regional situation characterised by the recurrence of epidemic diseases in several countries, the increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, the slow progress in the area of maternal and neonatal health and in the implementation of Universal Health Coverage policies. In spite of this situation and the impact of the challenges in internal resource mobilisation on community levy (the current rate being about 40%), WAHO was able to implement important activities including three major events such as the Post EBOLA High-Level Summit in Monrovia (Liberia), the regional meeting of ECOWAS parliamentarians on Reproductive Health/FP and Demographic Dividend in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the implementation of the road map on the local production of medicines and the first PPP/Health forum in Accra (Ghana). Also, thanks to external resource mobilisation (about 20 projects) and a significant network of partners, WAHO was also able to implement important regional interventions and support activities to countries for the strengthening of health systems (construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, biomedical equipment, logistics, training, etc.), epidemics control, capacity building, and activities to operationalise the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Diseases Control and Surveillance, with its headquarters in Abuja (Nigeria).
The Director General of WAHO subsequently recalled the priorities expressed by the Ministers during the last meeting of the Assembly of Health Ministers (AHM), which are the management of epidemics, the control of non-communicable diseases, immunisation, hospital reforms and capacity building of human resources and health. He thereafter discussed with participants WAHO’s Programme-Budget for 2018, which derives from the 2016–2020 strategic planning of the institution. This budget was prepared on the basis of the concept notes on budget streamlining developed by the ECOWAS Commission, the guidelines from the various ECOWAS discussion meetings and the priorities mentioned above. To conclude, Dr Xavier CRESPN exhorted participants to closely consider the various activities proposed to ensure their relevance with regard to the needs and priorities of member States.
The representative of the Minister of health and social protection of Togo first of all thanked WAHO for organising this regional meeting in Lome. He wished the deliberation of the Programmes Committee success. Before ending his speech, he gave assurance of support from the togolese authorities, and particularly the support of the Minister of health, Prof Moustafa MIJIYAWA, to WAHO and to all activities undertaken for the benefit of the region and the countries.
After the opening ceremony, deliberations started with a presentation of the objectives of the meeting, the status of implementation of recommendations from 2017 Programmes Committee meeting, the status of implementation of the 2017 programme of activities and budget, and the presentation of the detailed 2018 Programme-Budget. This was followed by discussions to provide improvements to the document presented.
On the margins of the meeting, the DG of WAHO met the Minister of health (who is also the President of the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers) and discussed with him the regional health situation; the achievements and major interventions since the beginning of 2017, the current challenges in the implementation of certain interventions and the way forward. He also held a working session with the Financial Controller.
The three-day meeting was marked by the drafting and adoption by participants of the Programmes Committee report.