WHO meets to review strategic plan
By SANDRA MACHIMA THE 67th session of the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional committee for Africa has opened in Zimbabwe, to review the five-year draft global strategic plan aimed at improving public health preparedness and response, Ministry of Health permanent secretary - health services Jabbin Mulwanda has disclosed.
He said the meeting would provide a platform for Zambia to understand how best to engage the private sector in investing in the health sector.
Dr Mulwanda said it was essential that the private sector move beyond Corporate Social Responsibility and start seeing investment prospects in the health sector.
He said providing health services in this era of Sustainable Development Goals, was not the responsibility of Ministry of Health alone, but also other nonhealth sectors like the Water and Sanitation, Local Government, Finance, including other wings of Government as well as the community.
Dr Mulwanda said everyone, including the private sector, needs to play their part to improve the health of Zambians.
Minister of Health Dr Chitalu Chilufya is delegation leader of the 14-member team drawn from various departments of the Ministry of Health, health facilities such as the Cancer Diseases Hospital, and provincial health offices. He said the summit would discuss strategies on how the Ministry of health could better utilize comparative advantages of different sectors to contribute to the overall health of the people.
Dr Mulwanda said that the four implementation frameworks, among, the elimination of yellow fever, health system development towards Universal Health Coverage, human resources for health and integrated essential Non Communicable Disease services would also be presented.
Dr Mulwanda also explained that a report on the implementation status of the Decade of Action for road safety, the authorisations and oversight of clinical trials in Africa and on reducing inequities through addressing social determinants of health would be presented, as part of the discussion of the 67th WHO Regional Committee for Africa Meeting.
Dr Mulwanda said the delegates would also look into discussing the Regional Orientation for the implementation of the Programme Budget 2018-2019, noting the meeting was important to Zambia in helping the country strategise on how to reduce health inequities through Inter sectorial actions.
He said two regional strategies on the management of environmental determinants of human health and on sexually transmitted Infections will be presented and discussed.