The health status of Cape Verde is comparable to high-income countries according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the state of health in Africa.
The report was launched recently at the 68th Regional Committee of the World Health Organization, held from 27 to 31 August, in Dakar, Senegal. It provides a comprehensive overview of health status and related services and health sector performance in the context of Agenda 2030.
Cape Verde was represented by the Minister of Health and Social Security, Arlindo do Rosário and the President of the National Institute of Public Health, Maria da Luz Lima.
Among the various resolutions and documents discussed and approved by the Ministers of the Afro member states are:
- Progress report on the Implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the WHO Secretariat in the Region
- WHO’s work on mobilizing resources through strengthening partnerships to better support Member States
- Regional framework for the implementation of the global strategy for the prevention and control of cholera
- Implementation of the four scheduled commitments on non-communicable diseases in the African Region
- Sustainable financing for health in Africa in the current conjuncture of world economic factors
- Roadmap for supporting access to medicines and vaccines in 2019-2023
- Global Strategy on Health, Environment and Climate Change
During the 68th Regional Committee, Cape Verdean representation shared the country’s good experience in two parallel events, namely the launching of the State of Health Analysis in the African Region and the Expansion of Digital Health in Africa.
The Minister of Health and Social Security also made a keynote speech at the roundtable “Malaria Elimination Initiative in the Sahel – High Level Ministerial Meeting” sponsored by the WHO and Roll back Malaria, in which the Sahelian Ministers of Health signed a commitment to end the disease in the sub-region by 2030.
In the margins of the meeting of the Committee, a meeting was held between the Ministers of Health of the Small Island Developing States of the Afro region where the WHO proposal on group purchases was discussed.
The event brought together Ministers of Health and senior officials from 47 African countries in the WHO African Region.
The Afro-WHO Regional Committee is a forum that reviews WHO’s work in the region and provides guidance on actions to improve the health situation in Member States.
This year’s meeting was attended by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti, as well as representatives of UN agencies, funds and programs, civil society, bilateral and multilateral agencies and others.