Title: African ministers want 15% of national budgets for health
Author: Ifedayo Adebayo
Date: 01.12.10
Source: Next Community
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5647731-147/african_ministers_want_15_of_national.csp
African health and environment ministers, at the weekend in Angola, agreed to advocate for and monitor an allocation of 15% of government budgets to the health sector, as stated in the 2001 Abuja Declaration by African heads of states.
The two-day meeting in Luanda, Angola, with the adoption of the Luanda Commitment, which outlines the continent’s health and environment priorities and commits countries to take actions to address them, also agreed on accelerating the implementation of the Libreville Declaration and a substantial increase of allocations of government budgets to the environment sector.
“The Luanda Conference is a milestone, as the health and environment sectors become credible and strategic partners. I leave this meeting further convinced that the future of Africa is not cast anywhere. It is we who determine this by our commitments, our determination, and our actions,” the regional director and Representative of UNEP in Africa, Mounkaila Goumandakoye, said.
The meeting, which was the second Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment, was held at the initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the government of Angola.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was also attended by Nigeria delegates, the priorities listed in the Luanda Commitment include “provision of safe drinking water; provision of sanitation and hygiene services; management of environmental and health risks related to climate change; sustainable management of forests and wetlands; management of water, soil, and air pollution; as well as biodiversity conservation.
“Other priorities are vector control and management of chemicals, particularly pesticides and wastes; food safety and security, including the management of genetically-modified organisms in food production; children’s health and women’s environmental health; health in the workplace; and the management of natural and human-induced disasters.”
Breaking grounds
Following its agreement that a proper implementation will have the right impact on the attainment of MDG goals 4, 5, 6 and 7 relating to child health, maternal health, communicable diseases, and environmental sustainability, the ministers resolved to complete the Situation Analyses and Needs Assessment (SANA) in all African countries and the preparation of National Plans of Joint Action by the end of 2012.
So far, SANA has been completed in 17 African countries. The ministers also established the Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA), which they said is “a novel mechanism that will stimulate policies and investments in favour of enhanced joint actions for health and environment in Africa.”
Also, for the first time, African ministers of health and environment made their strongest pronouncement ever on climate change and health in the region, with the adoption of a Joint Statement on Climate Change and Health, which will be tabled before the ongoing 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico.
“The three tools that we have adopted at this conference are clear and consistent, and the decisions we have taken will serve us well in the implementation of the Libreville Declaration,” the WHO regional director for Africa, Luis Sambo, said.
Author: Ifedayo Adebayo
Date: 01.12.10
Source: Next Community
http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/5647731-147/african_ministers_want_15_of_national.csp
African health and environment ministers, at the weekend in Angola, agreed to advocate for and monitor an allocation of 15% of government budgets to the health sector, as stated in the 2001 Abuja Declaration by African heads of states.
The two-day meeting in Luanda, Angola, with the adoption of the Luanda Commitment, which outlines the continent’s health and environment priorities and commits countries to take actions to address them, also agreed on accelerating the implementation of the Libreville Declaration and a substantial increase of allocations of government budgets to the environment sector.
“The Luanda Conference is a milestone, as the health and environment sectors become credible and strategic partners. I leave this meeting further convinced that the future of Africa is not cast anywhere. It is we who determine this by our commitments, our determination, and our actions,” the regional director and Representative of UNEP in Africa, Mounkaila Goumandakoye, said.
The meeting, which was the second Inter-Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment, was held at the initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the government of Angola.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was also attended by Nigeria delegates, the priorities listed in the Luanda Commitment include “provision of safe drinking water; provision of sanitation and hygiene services; management of environmental and health risks related to climate change; sustainable management of forests and wetlands; management of water, soil, and air pollution; as well as biodiversity conservation.
“Other priorities are vector control and management of chemicals, particularly pesticides and wastes; food safety and security, including the management of genetically-modified organisms in food production; children’s health and women’s environmental health; health in the workplace; and the management of natural and human-induced disasters.”
Breaking grounds
Following its agreement that a proper implementation will have the right impact on the attainment of MDG goals 4, 5, 6 and 7 relating to child health, maternal health, communicable diseases, and environmental sustainability, the ministers resolved to complete the Situation Analyses and Needs Assessment (SANA) in all African countries and the preparation of National Plans of Joint Action by the end of 2012.
So far, SANA has been completed in 17 African countries. The ministers also established the Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA), which they said is “a novel mechanism that will stimulate policies and investments in favour of enhanced joint actions for health and environment in Africa.”
Also, for the first time, African ministers of health and environment made their strongest pronouncement ever on climate change and health in the region, with the adoption of a Joint Statement on Climate Change and Health, which will be tabled before the ongoing 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico.
“The three tools that we have adopted at this conference are clear and consistent, and the decisions we have taken will serve us well in the implementation of the Libreville Declaration,” the WHO regional director for Africa, Luis Sambo, said.
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