Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - November 20, 2006
In a statement issued Monday to accompany the African Regional Health Report, the World Health Organization in Geneva said most African nations from Uganda to Mali, South Africa to Rwanda, have taken giant steps towards improving the health of their people.
"If we are to continue moving forward, African governments and their partners must make a major commitment and invest more funds to strengthen health systems," said Luis Gomes Sambo, regional director of the WHO regional office for Africa.
According to the report, 50 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in Uganda have benefited from antiretroviral medicine through a program that trains nurses to discharge the duties of a doctor.
In Mali, more staff is available at centers around the country to assist in delivering babies and perform caesarian sections through a program which gives regular staff obstetric training.
South Africa utilizes the skills of both young doctors and medical students about to graduate by sending them to isolated farming areas not easily accessible to basic medical services. These doctors have so far provided health care to about 500,000 people in the region.
In another example, the report said Rwanda has seen a one-quarter drop in road traffic- related deaths due to the introduction of fines for failure to wear seatbelts or helmets by police authorities.
The African Union, reacting to the report, urged better coordination with the efforts of international partners in light of visible self-reliance by African nations in the health sector.
"Africa confronts the world's most dramatic public health crisis, but this report shows there are public health solutions that work in the African setting," African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said.
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