Ministers of Health and representatives from African countries are set to meet virtually for the Seventy-first session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa from 24 – 26 August 2021.
The Regional Committee is the Organization’s decision-making body and the gathering is the premier meeting on public health in Africa, convening 47 Health Ministers once a year to discuss and endorse regional policies, activities and financial plans to improve people’s health and well-being.
More than 400 delegates, including Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO Director-General, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Representatives of United Nations (UN) Agencies, Funds and Programmes, civil society, bilateral and multilateral organizations and other development partners will participate in the annual flagship event.
Among the issues to be discussed are: scaling up COVID-19 response; accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem; improving access to assistive health technologies; bolstering uptake of digital health; reinforcing an integrated response to tuberculosis, HIV, sexually transmitted infections and hepatitis; defeating meningitis by 2030; and sustainable financing of WHO.
There will also be a special session on polio outbreak response and polio transition in the WHO African Region, according to the press statement from African News Agency.