P Mlambo-Ngcuka: Third session of African Union Conference of Ministers
of Health

10 April 2007

Salutations

Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Professor Konare
Regional Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Sambo
Acting Minister of Health of South Africa, Honourable Jeff Radebe
Ministers of Health of AU and other Ministers present
The Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of South Africa
MECs for Health of South Africa
Excellencies of the members of the diplomatic corps
Development partners present
Representatives of international and national organisations present
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to have been invited to this historic occasion.
Unfortunately, I could not be present at the official opening session this
morning but I understand that it was an inspiring event based on building a
shared understanding on what needs to be done.

I am sure that our acting Minister of Health has already welcomed you to
South Africa, but let me do it again, 'ngiyanamukela.' I do hope that you will
have a very successful conference and equally important that you will find time
to enjoy what the city of Johannesburg and Gauteng province have to offer.

It saddens me that the person who is responsible for South Africa hosting
this conference, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, is unable to be here. I am sure
that you will join me in thanking her for her efforts to improve the health of
our people in South Africa. Our heartfelt prayers are with her in wishing her a
speedy recovery.

We are gathered here to share experiences on our advocacy plans and
collective action plans to combat the many ailments that afflict our people
such as Malaria, TB and the HIV and the AIDS epidemic. Our resolves as
countries and a continent have to be about conquering and a better life for our
people. Our task here is to bring about harmonisation of our programmes. I am
thankful we have moved beyond strategising to action plans and policy to action
programmes.

Our social contract with the people is not on open terms and the patience of
our people who live with the burden of diseases is not elastic.

Challenges and responsibilities

Our people are Africa's most important assets and we have to invest in them;
their health, education, economic and social wellbeing. One of the challenges
Africa faces is that of not meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as
we have been advised. We cannot accept this state of affairs as fate accompli
for the one billion people of the continent, we need a survival plan and we
need it fast! As a matter of fact, Africans have to fight back and do their
best to meet the MDGs especially those that speak to health, education and
growth. We do not dare to fail on these two goals especially.

Africa's young population, a competitive advantage

Africa has some of the youngest people in the world. The youthfulness of our
population indeed should be our competitive advantage. We cannot compete with
the rest of the world if we have an uneducated and unhealthy youth. We need to
ensure that the young people are healthy and get the necessary education to be
able to turn around our current situation as a continent.

Women and girls

Women and girls are the back bone of our continent. Therefore, addressing
qualitatively the interventions geared towards women and girls is a do or die.
We cannot afford to have the majority of Africa's population living in
unhealthy and unproductive conditions. There is ample evidence of what I have
just said and governments, policy makers and international agencies need to
ensure that education and health are afforded to the peoples of this continent,
if we are really to turn the corner on our current situation as Africa.

I also dare all of us to dream of an AIDS-free generation. We can defeat HIV
and AIDS only if we join hands in fighting it and if we all take personal
responsibility. We need to collaborate with the African broadcasters who have
pledged to promote anti-HIV and AIDS messages by giving dedicated air time to
such messages in their "You and Me" campaign. The message must be embraced
especially by all our State broadcasters. Each one of us has a role whether
positive or negative.

Technology

Africa has to leap frog into the 21st century. Africa has not taken full
advantage of technology to solve the many challenges she faces to deliver
services especially health. We must look to technology to see how it can assist
us in dealing with some of the challenges. I refer here to initiatives such as
telemedicine that can be employed to use the little human resources we have
more effectively.

The cost of drugs

As Africans we must unite to work together to deal with the production and
the cost of drugs. This is a very urgent and important task that we must deal
with. It goes without mention that our people's lifespan are shortened merely
because of the prohibitive price of medicine that can help alleviate the many
conditions that afflict our people.

Despite the many challenges that we face, Africa is a continent of hope.
However, this hope must be nurtured and leaders at every level of society have
a role to play in making this hope a reality.

In putting into practice public policy, which affects public lives, is a
clear objective of building capacity and mobilising resources.

Access to health means improving access to information sources.

You and I as government representatives have a critical role to play in
developing policies that impact positively on people's lives and in ensuring
these policies are implemented effectively.

This, as I understand it, is one of the central challenges that you will be
discussing during this conference. We are gathered here to find not what to
say, but what to do.

To achieve success in improving the lives of our people, collaboration,
engagement, networking between government, civil society and business world is
critical. It is here where strategic talking points were first initiated.

Ladies and gentleman, may I remind you of the agreed to objectives of an
Africa Health Strategy (AHS): "strategies for intervention are poverty
reduction, governance, social protection, strengthening health systems, human
resources, commodity security, community participation and empowerment."

Africa Health Strategy (AHS)

This collective of Health Ministers must find ways to act together to
deliver on the AHS, which I am sure you will finalise by the end of the
conference and to which we will be reporting in 2008 at the AU Assembly where
we will review our mandate.

We are all affected by our environment and contexts in which we exist. As is
well known, whether one is healthy or not depends on a range of factors. These
factors include poverty, lack of access to sanitary water and proper
sanitation, lack of education, unemployment, spousal abuse and civil conflict.
It is for this very same reason we are all signatories to the MDGs which aim at
combating hunger and poverty, improve education, health, the status of women
and children and the environment.

As a matter of fact, I am pleased to learn that this gathering of Health
Ministers and practitioners will deliberate on investing "on evidence based
prevention as the most cost effective intervention with focus on young people,
women, girls and other vulnerable groups." We dare not fail them.

We need all these things to ensure that an environment exists for people to
develop to their full potential. In real terms it simply means. The importance
of a healthy Africa depends, to a large extent on what we agreed at the Abuja
Conference in 2006:

i) On mobilising "resources for sustainable implementation of the Abuja 2001
Declaration Call for devoting 15% of the national budget to health."
ii) "To negotiate for availability of grants targeted at treatment, care and
support of diseases."

The backlogs in Africa are large and there is much work to do. Distinguished
ladies and gentlemen, I am informed that the AHS acknowledges this and provides
a road map for the next eight years. Clearly the implementation of this
strategy will need additional resources. Social cohesion in programmes implies
building partnerships. Indeed, there needs to be frameworks for "building well
co-ordinated partnerships, regional and international to promote universal
access to prevention, care and support."

Some resources will, indeed, come from government but development partners
will be requested to support the implementation of the strategy as well. Human
development of our people demands a multi sectoral approach. I wish to appeal
to our partners to come on board and assist us to make this strategy work for
the people of Africa. If we fail individually, all of Africa loses.

Our people, whether infected or affected by disease are a national and
continental resource. They need to receive full support from all spheres of
government, civil society and the corporate world. Nation building and
development of our citizenry requires the will of the collective.

In South Africa we have a saying, "umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" (you are who
you are because of others).

Conclusion

Programme Director, let me say a few things about the importance of the work
of the AU. In a globalised world of a market ideology, there is significant
competition for resources. The AU provides us with an institutional mechanism
to protect our interests as Africans but also a structure within which to
assist each other so that both our people will be empowered to develop to their
full potential. We, therefore, have a responsibility to this generation and to
future generations of Africans. It is our public accountability to be effective
public representatives.

Finally, may I again thank you for this opportunity to meet and speak with
you all. I wish the conference and the implementation of its resolutions much
success.

I thank you!

Issued by: The Presidency
10 Apr 2007
Source: SAPA