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7he meeting was attended by 0inistry of Health 3ortfolio Committee 9ice Chairpeson and .ubuta 0ember of 3arliament 03 0usa 0abu]a, together with 3arliament
MBABANE - In his report, MP Mabuza shared that at the conclusion of the 14th NEAPACOH meeting, the participants were cognisant of the fact that the health status of the people of Africa continues to be a matter of concern with unacceptably high morbidity and mortality levels.
7his is especially among children, youth and women with low access to Tuality health services, with conseTuences such as teenage and unplanned pregnancies, coupled with inadeTuate birth spacing
7hey also appreciated that Universal Health Coverage UHC meant that all people should access and utilise the health services they need without suffering social exclusion, financial hardship and other barriers
³5ecognising that health is an investment in human capital and social and economic development, towards the full realisation of human potential, and significantly contributes to the promotion and protection of human rights and dignity, as well as the empowerment of all people,´ revealed 0abu]a in the report
2ther discussions that the participants agreed on include
5ealising that UHC implies that all people
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have access, without any form of discrimination, to nationally determined sets of the needed promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative essential health services and essential, safe, affordable, effective and Tuality medicines and vaccines, while ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the users to financial hardship; 5ecalling that primary health care 3HC
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brings people into first contact with the health system and is the most inclusive, effective and efficient approach to enhance people’s physical and mental health, as well as social well-being, and that 3HC is the cornerstone of a sustainable health system for the attainment of UHC and health-related SDGs; Underscoring the need for strong, people
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centred health systems that are resilient, functional, well-governed, adolescent and gender-responsive, accountable, integrated, and capable of Tuality service delivery, supported by a competent health workforce, adeTuate health infrastructure, enabling legislative and regulatory frameworks, as well as sufficient and sustainable domestic funding;
0indful of the need to tackle health ineTuities
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and ineTualities within and among countries through national political commitment, policies and international cooperation, with emphasis on social, economic and environmental and other determinants of health 1oting that whereas $frican countries often
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have strong policies that advance access to Tuality reproductive health information and services for women, girls, young people and adolescents, the implementation of these policies remains weak largely due to under-investments and low prioritisation in national planning frameworks 5esearcher 0athoko]a Dlamini and the former tabled the report in