Dr Touray, others attend WHO briefing in Brazzaville

By Aisha Tamba A briefing workshop for new ministers of health in the WHO Africa Region, recently ended in Brazzaville, Congo. The ministers of health from Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Lesotho and Congo attended the workshop. It was called to create better understanding of the WHO, the role of its governing bodies, key policies, strategic guidance and UN reform processes. The two-day briefing also contributed towards enhancing the personal effectiveness of ministers in health in leadership and partnership as well as serve as a platform for discussions on key issues that are relevant to the specific role of health ministers. The regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said: “As investments are made to support health ministries to carry out their functions, there is the need to complement this support by further providing the necessary health related information as part of the organisations contribution to empowering the newly appointed Ministers of Health to enable them to attain national regional, and global health development goals.” She further said the context in which WHO and the health ministries conduct business keeps evolving significantly, adding extra challenges to the growing expectations of people for improved health outcomes. Among the issues discussed are: introduction on WHO’s work in the context of UN reforms, public health in the context of SDGs and 13th General Programme of Work (GPW13) and WHO’s support to implement national health agendas.]]>