Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 20, 2006
The U.N. health agency's report assesses the enormity of problems ranging from the ongoing AIDS crisis to the increasing incidence of diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
It also highlights innovative strategies being developed across Africa that rely not on expensive methods imported from richer countries, but on local initiatives using readily available resources, such as the training of community healthcare workers.
In Uganda, for example, the shortage of doctors meant AIDS patients were going without treatment. To fill the gap, the country turned to its nurses.
"Training nurses to do jobs traditionally done by doctors allowed Uganda to reach more patients and save lives," said Dr. Antoine Kabore, WHO's director of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa.
In a continent that experts say is in desperate need of at least one million more health care workers, full use of the existing work force is crucial.
"Having well-trained community health care workers has a massive impact," said Louise Orton of the London-based African Medical Research Foundation. "It means that people don't have to walk for three days to get medical care."
Still, the health challenges facing Africa are immense, and such initiatives alone are not going to solve the problem.
"African governments need to prioritize health care," said Kabore. "Some small projects have been successful, but they need to be duplicated many more times."
Africa's health report card is catastrophic; more than 90% of the world's malaria cases occur on the continent, and less than 60% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has access to safe water.
It is a hotbed of diseases that have long disappeared from the developed world, including guinea worm, leprosy, and river blindness. And despite only having 11% of the world's population, Africa claims 60% of the people living with HIV.
WHO's Director-general elect, Dr. Margaret Chan, has put Africa at the top of the agency's agenda.
"The health of the people of Africa must be the key indicator of the performance of WHO," she said in a Nov. 9 speech to the World Health Assembly upon her confirmation as the agency's next chief.
Advances are slowly being made. In Mauritius, WHO says virtually all births are now performed by skilled attendants. This has led to maternal mortality rates in 2003 reaching the same levels as those in developed countries - 21 per 100,000 live births, WHO said.
Still, Mauritius isn't representative of the continent. It is a small country with an exceptionally high literacy rate and free health care. Some experts worry such initiatives might not work in other parts of Africa.
"When you look at what's happening in bigger countries, it's not quite so encouraging," said Dr. Oona Campbell, a maternal health expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
As the WHO report notes, there has been little or no improvement in maternal and child health across Africa for the last two decades, and in some countries, their health status has even deteriorated further.
AIDS has cut a wide swath through Africa, and complicates virtually every pre-existing health issue on the continent. New problems like the recently identified extensively drug resistant tuberculosis in South Africa are also threatening already fragile health systems.
"Africa's health problems can't be reversed overnight," said Kabore.
The WHO report covers the entire continent except Sudan, which the agency deals with as part of its Middle East region instead.
061120
AP061140
Copyright © 2006 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .