Abujaeria - Nig — The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, on Thursday, 4th November 2010 in Abuja inaugurated a Task Force on Malaria Elimination in the ECOWAS region.
The Task Force is mandated to facilitate the implementation of a resolution by ECOWAS Ministers of Health as well as the ECOWAS-Cuba-Venezuela Tripartite Agreement on the elimination of malaria in ECOWAS Member States by 2015, when ECOWAS turns 40. At their meeting in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire in July 2009, the regional Health Ministers agreed that controlling malaria would help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They thus undertook, among others, to keep malaria high on the world development agenda, support the local production of drugs and products to fight malaria as well as use all available resources to prevent and reduce malaria cases and deaths, achieve universal coverage, eliminate malaria and, in the long run, eradicate it. While taking into account the integrated approach and multisectoral aspects of the malaria elimination programme, the Task Force will, more specifically, fast-track the implementation of the approved roadmaps towards the elimination of the malaria scourge by the target date.
Headed by Ambassador Gbeho and assisted by the Vice President of the Commission, Mr. Jean de Dieu Somda, the Task Force has, as members, representatives of the West African Health Organization (WAHO), the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), the Commission's Directorates of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, Communication, Environment, the Private Sector and Civil Society. Others include representatives of the Economic Policy Analysis Unit, the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit and the Health Adviser to the President of the Commission who will serve as Secretary. In a brief meeting with members of the Task Force, Ambassador Gbeho urged them to take the anti-malaria challenge seriously, noting that "we have a special responsibility for the health of our fellow West African citizens".
"If we are moving from an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of the People, we must ensure that our people stay alive and well and ready to take on the challenges of development", said the President of the Commission. He added: "As an organization involved in the development of West Africa, we are concerned that if we take up this responsibility, we can contribute a great deal to keeping our children and women alive, improving their well-being and increasing their productivity". Ambassador Gbeho, who spoke on the organization's collaboration with the Governments of Cuba and Venezuela, commended the offers made by the two governments to provide technical assistance to ECOWAS and build factories for the production of anti-malaria products. Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria have been identified as beneficiaries for the first phase of the programme.
