Luanda - Angola will hold the first meeting of African Health Ministers jointly with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and African Union (AU) Commission from April 14 - 17 to discuss a proposal to set up an African Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, among other matters.
The meeting, to take be held under the theme “Let's Turn Africa into a Healthier Continent”, is expected to be attended by about 300 participants, including health ministers, experts and international partners.
The four-day meeting aims to identify the key actions needed to speed up the progress toward universal health coverage, mechanisms to face the risk factors of non-communicable diseases and to reach an agreement regarding the establishment of an African Agency for Medicines.
The event also aims to reach consensus on the two crucial processes -- creation of the African Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, as well as mechanisms of joint accountability for the implementation of Declarations and Commitments assumed by the health ministers of the continent.
According to the programme of the conference, the participants will review the current state of the African plan to end with avoidable maternal and infant mortality rates.
The initiative to hold this conference resulted from a co-ordination and consultation of efforts among the WHO, the AU and the Angolan government, in view of the need to find answers to new threats to the African population’s health and challenges of development for the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). – SAnews.gov.za-NNN-ANGOP
