The two day Ministerial meeting of the 5th session of the AU Conference of Ministers of Health (CAMH5) started in Windhoek Namibia today under the theme “The impact of climate change on health and development in Africa”, with the expectation that they will formulate a clear response to climate change in order to protect human health and ensure that it is placed at the centre of the climate debate.
The Ministerial Conference is being held after that of the experts, which was held from 17 to 19 April. The report of that experts’ meeting will be discussed during the Ministerial meeting and the final ministerial report will be submitted to the summit of the African Union in July, to enable implementation of its decisions.
The meeting is concerned that Africa is already experiencing the effects of climate change, which are likely to be more severe than originally anticipated. The Ministers are also concerned that the rising frequency of extreme climate events renders African countries vulnerable to increasing prevalence of and mortality from infectious diseases that have several negative consequences such as decreasing economic productivity, increasing medical costs, and further pressurizing already tenuous health care systems. It is therefore essential to formulate a clear response to the climate changes in order to protect human health and ensure that it is placed at the centre of the climate debate.
Over the next two days, the ministers’ meeting is expected to review reports and recommendations touching on critical programmes and interventions undertaken by the AU Commission in implementation of recommendations taken by the Ministers of Health and by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Among the issues to be reviewed will be: Update on implementation of decisions of the 4th Conference of African Ministers of Health (CAMH4); Five Year Review of the implementation of the 2006 Abuja Call for Accelerated action towards Universal Access to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria services by 2010; Africa Health Strategy (2007 to 2015) and Health Care Financing; Decade for African Traditional Medicine (2001 to 2010); Maternal and Child Health; and Polio eradication. The meeting will also receive briefings on statutory reports i.e. the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa (PMPA) Business Plan; and e-Health and Telemedicine Harmonization.
Mr. Nahas Angula, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia delivered the key note address during the official opening ceremony of the Ministerial meeting. He highlighted the challenges that his country is facing as a result of climate change.
“The current flooding in the north and north east of Namibia is hampering health service delivery systems extensively. Clinics are inaccessible, mobile outreach services cannot be conducted. Many people are displaced and have to be accommodated in make shift camps, routine primary health care and immunization services are interrupted, and the quality of water and sanitation is heavily compromised”.
The Prime Minister also noted that the work of malaria elimination is becoming more pressing. He added that, in mitigation, his government will sign an agreement on cross border collaboration with Angola next week, to fight malaria.
Finally, the Prime Minister urged the Ministers to ensure that Africa’s health systems are based on a comprehensive primary health care approach that supports and strengthens community capacities to better manage their health and thereby improve socio economic development. He observed that “no one nation can meet the challenges posed by climate changes alone” and called for a collective resolve to address this global challenge.
Climate change has a direct impact on five aspects of the human environment ecosystems, water security, weather changes & extremes, air quality and oceans and coasts that in the turn impact on additional environmental factors. In her opening address, the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Advocate Bience Gawanas highlighted some of the effects of climate change on health;
“More than one third of diseases in children under the age of five years are caused by environmental exposures. The top killers of children under five are acute respiratory infections (from indoor air pollution), diarrheal diseases (mostly from poor water, sanitation and hygiene), and malaria (from inadequate environmental management and vector control).”
The Commissioner therefore underscored the need to formulate a clear response to changes in the climate. This is important in light of the fact that Africa as a continent is under pressure from climate stresses and is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
Among other initiatives, Advocate Gawanas also flagged the AU’s work in another area of health, i.e. maternal mortality. “29 AU Member States have launched the Accelerated Campaign for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and some of them have developed roadmaps for the reduction of maternal newborn and child mortality”. Indeed, with a view to adopting a holistic approach, the conference is expected to formally adopt the rebranding of CARMMA to include new born and child health.
At the end of their two day meeting, the Ministers are expected to adopt the ‘Windhoek Declaration on the impact of climate change on health and development in Africa; as well as Africa’s Common Position to the high level meeting of the UN General Assembly special session on AIDS to be held in June this year.
Other speakers who addressed the opening session of the ministerial meeting today included Dr Johan Musinguzi on behalf of NGO partners; and Dr Michel Sidibe Executive Director of UNAIDS who also spoke on behalf of UN agencies. The Namibian Minister of Health and Social Affairs Dr Richard Kamwi was the Director of Ceremonies while the vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Andre Mama Fonda, Minister of Public Health of Cameroon.
The statutory sessions of the AU Conference of Ministers of Health are convened every two years.
