The WHO has restructured the health promotion strategy, to tackle the increasing menace of preventable public health conditions in the African region.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, made this known at the plenary of the 62nd Session of the WHO Regional Committee meeting in Luanda, Angola.
He said that the aim of scaling up the health promotion intervention was to mitigate leading causes of preventable deaths.
Sambo said that it would also reduce disabilities and major illnesses from communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The strategy, he said, would also reduce injuries in relation to maternal and child health conditions, reduce new and re-emerging threats to health in the African region.
Sambo said the updated strategy was the decision of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa and that it would cover a period of 10 years.
The updated has defined specified roles and responsibilities for member states.
“The document lists five principles intended to guide the implementation of identified priority interventions.
“These principles are ownership of programmes by individuals and communities, through their participation in all activities, equity in health to ensure access, availability and affordable health promotion services for all.
“Human rights and gender equity to promote health and mutual accountability among national government, service providers, funding agencies and intended beneficiaries.’’
The regional director stated that the strategy proposes seven priority actions to address priority public health condition.
He said actions in the area of public institutions included strengthening the stewardship role of the ministry of health, strengthening national technical and institutional capacity and local levels.
The regional director pointed out that gathering and dissemination of evidence on best practice and effective health promotion approaches were among the areas addressed under the strategy.
Sambo listed other interventions to include, establishing sustainable mechanism for financing health promotion, to ensure adequate funding of interventions across programmes, and strengthening functional partnership.
He said that there was need to strengthen community capacity for health promotion, by ensuring the participation by all at various stages from programme design and planning, to implementation and evaluation of outcomes.
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