Issued by Department of Health
29 February 2008
Minister of Health Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang leaves for Uganda this weekend to participate in the first Global Forum on Human Resources for Health that will be held in the Ugandan capital Kampala from 02-07 March.
The Forum is convened by the Global Health Workforce Alliance and will be attended by up to 1000 participants, including government leaders, health, development, civil society, academic and health professional leaders from around the world.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang is to address the official opening of the Forum in her capacity as the Chair of the African Union Bureau of Health Ministers sharing the platform with Ugandan President General Yoweri Museveni, and Deputy Director-General Anarfi-Asamoa Baah. There will also be a video message from Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General, United Nations.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang will also participate in the panel discussion focusing on the Health Workforce and the Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. In her address, Minister Tshabalala-Msimang is expected to highlight the challenges posed by migration of health workers on the health systems of African countries.
The Global Forum will provide an extraordinary platform for sharing and exploring solutions, consensus and capacity building, and will further galvanize a global movement that is emerging as a response to the increasingly pertinent human resources for health (HRH) crisis.
The Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) is a partnership dedicated to identifying and implementing solutions to the health workforce crisis and is hosted and administered by WHO.
The Kampala Forum comes at a critical moment when problem recognition has grown enormously and the international community is now moving towards action in addressing global health challenges.
Contact:
Sibani Mngadi
Media Liaison Officer
Ministry of Health
Tel: 012) 312 0763
Fax: 012) 325 5526
Cell: 082 772 0161