16 - 25 May 2005
Chairperson,
Director-General, Dr J-W Lee,
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me begin by congratulating you, Chairperson, on your election. I wish to also extend congratulatory remarks to our invited guests, His Excellency, Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the President of Maldives and Mr. Bill Gates for such inspiring addresses. I also congratulate the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on its appointment as WHO Goodwill Ambassador and I thank them for such a wonderful performance.
I wish to turn my attention now to the report of the Director-General. Dr Lee, thank you for a comprehensive report. This week and next week, we shall be considering various health issues that will have a significant impact on global health. The extent to which we will succeed to make a positive impact on global health will, to a large extent, be determined by the extent to which the outcome of our deliberations in this Health Assembly can be implemented. This in turn Chairperson, is dependent upon the resources that this collective is prepared to make available within the program budget.
It is for this reason that the proposed programme budget 2006-2007 becomes one of the critical decisions that this Health Assembly must take. South Africa stands firmly behind the proposed increase in the programme budget. We shall, however, at the appropriate time, offer comments on the specific areas of this proposed programme budget. It is our view that the modest increase proposed in this budget will enable countries to address some of the challenges and implement programmes that will change the lives of millions of ordinary people around the world. One such challenge is that of human resources for health.
The adoption of the resolution on international migration of health workers by this Health Assembly during its 57th session was not only long overdue but was a very clear statement by honourable Ministers of their commitment to address challenges faced by developing countries. This commitment must be translated into action. As we shall proceed later to consider the Director-General's progress report in this regard, we shall indeed be looking for clear signs of this commitment.
South Africa has effectively and innovatively implemented the Commonwealth Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Health Workers. An agreement has been reached with the UK on the reciprocal exchange of health professionals. We are already starting to see anecdotal evidence of this strategy working. It may be a good idea to use this experience as a case study within the context of the implementation of this resolution.
Chairperson, we are delighted to note that 2006 World Health Report will be dedicated to human resources for health. We trust that the Director-General has already begun the all important work of developing the report. It is impossible to overemphasise the deep significance of this report for developing countries, and particularly those in Africa.
This, in our view, calls for the constitution of an informed reference group, with particular knowledge of the situation in developing countries, and we hereby request the Director-General, as soon as possible, to constitute such a group. That said, South Africa stands ready and willing to participate in the process of developing this report. We are certain that we have, based on our experiences over the last decade, a significant contribution to make.
Later this year, in September, our Heads of State and Government will be meeting at United Nations General Assembly to consider progress in achieving targets with respect to the Millennium Development Goals. We are concerned about the observation that if current trends continue, most poor countries will not meet the health related Millennium Development Goals.
Chairperson, it is disturbing also that no region in the developing world is on track to meet the child mortality target. We also note with concern the slow progress towards meeting targets related to maternal mortality.
We request the Director-General to ensure adequate resource allocation for this area of work as well as to provide technical support to countries. We also urge Member States to intensify efforts in meeting these challenges.
We welcome the focus that WHO is placing on women and Children, in particular we welcome the World Health Report 2005, Make Every Mother and Child Count as well as the dedication of the World Health Day on 7 April 2005 to this important theme. The Maternal Mortality Rate for South Africa has decreased from 150 in 1998 to 123 per 100 000 live births in 2002 while infant mortality came down from 45.4 in 1998 to 42.5 per 1000 live birth.
It is of vital importance though, that as we examine this issue, we not only focus on communicable diseases but to also focus on non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac diseases, asthma and trauma related violence which have devastating consequences for the health of women and children. Further, we need to focus on the area of women, children and tobacco control as well as healthy lifestyles.
Chairperson, we wish to underscore the importance of nutrition as a basis for good health. Good nutrition increases energy levels, boosts immunity and it is a critical component of a comprehensive response to diseases. Nutrition prolongs good health and serves as a solid foundation that often determines the success of other medical interventions. At the same time, the importance of physical activity in promoting healthy lifestyle cannot be overemphasised. We are also delighted that the Health Assembly will begin to consider the issue of alcohol abuse.
With regard to tobacco control, South Africa welcomes the fact that the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has entered into force. We firmly congratulate all countries that have ratified the Convention. We are delighted to be amongst that group, having ourselves ratified the Convention on the 19th April 2005. We encourage those that have not ratified to do so speedily to ensure that the health of all nations is protected.
Now, the real challenge of implementing international tobacco control measures lies ahead of us all. We wish to underscore the need for technical and financial support in the implementation of this Convention.
This is very close to our hearts and was raised consistently by developing countries during the negotiations. We trust that WHO and other relevant institutions and development partners will ensure that the developing countries are indeed fully supported and empowered to discharge their responsibilities. We look forward, eagerly, to the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties, which is scheduled for February 2006.
Chairperson, the extent to which we will succeed in making every mother and child count is inextricably linked to accessibility and affordability of essential drugs and pharmaceutical products. Distinguished delegates would recall that the Health Assembly established a Commission to produce an analysis of intellectual property rights, innovation and public health.
Last week, we had an opportunity of hosting this Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health in South Africa. We are appreciative of the opportunity to be able to contribute to the work of this Commission. We firmly believe the outcome of the work of this Commission will greatly promote accessibility and affordability of drugs and other pharmaceuticals products including the safety, quality and efficacy of traditional medicines.
We congratulate the Director-General on the establishment of the Commission on the Social Determinants of health, which was recently launched in Chile. We wish to underscore that we already know the social determinants of health, what we need is action, action and more action! We need to see the impact of programmes put in place. We trust that the Commission will deliver these results to us.
In conclusion Chairperson, allow me to extend South Africa's sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to the victims of the Tsunami disaster and earthquakes as well as other disasters around the world. We commend the enormous international humanitarian response provided to victims of the tsunami in the East Asia, we are privileged to have been able to assist. As we respond to these disasters, we dare not forget that Africa is disproportionately experiencing a disaster of one kind or another on a daily basis. We urge development partners to ensure that whilst responding to disasters in other parts of the world, Africa does fall off the radar screen.
We sincerely hope that from the lessons learnt in responding to these disasters, nations across the globe will unite to ensure that better early warning systems, risk reduction and preventative measures. South Africa remains committed to support any global initiative aimed at disaster preparedness, risk reduction and humanitarian response, both nationally and internationally. It is precisely for this reason that South Africa participated actively in the recently concluded intergovernmental negotiations towards a revised set of International Health Regulations.
We participated, not only as an individual Member State, but also as one of the 46 Member States of the AFRO Region. We are proud to say that the AFRO Region was able to reach consensus on all issues, and in particular on those that, in our view, are of particular relevance or significance in Africa. As a result of extensive work done by the members of AFRO negotiating team, we were able to speak at the negotiations with one voice. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of this for ensuring that our issues were considered seriously, and addressed appropriately. We are satisfied with the outcome.
The final draft of the Regulations is a document of significant compromise. A delicate balance has been achieved. In our view, all care should now be taken in the process at this World Health Assembly that will hopefully result in the adoption of the Regulations, not to interfere with or upset this delicate balance.
The effectiveness of the Regulations will now depend upon the ability to build and maintain all of the necessary structures and systems to support their application. It is of critical importance to ensure that wherever a public health emergency of international concern occurs, there is capacity for surveillance, preparedness and response.
South Africa reaffirms its commitment to be a credible partner in this process. As we make this commitment, we underscore the need to pay special attention to capacity building within the individual countries of the AFRO Region, and we ask for the considered support, where needed, of the World Health Organisation and all Member States to enable us to meet all of our obligations under the Regulations.