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Africa Health Day 2004
"Africa is not gloom and hopelessness. Yes, we're all familiar with stories about how Africa is a
continent rife with political corruption, poverty and famine. Africa is all of those things - but also so much more.
Who talks about African centers of learning? Who remembers that civilization started in
Africa? In Africa today we have the biggest stock of natural resources in the world. We also
have a relatively small population of 800 million people. We have hope."
Dr. Ebrahim M. Samba,
Regional Director,
WHO/AFRO |
Africa is a resource-rich continent with a vast evolutionary biodiversity. Unfortunately, political instability, humanitarian
emergencies, disease and famine are more often what is known about Africa, rather than the successful
health initiatives that are working to improve the daily lives of men, women and children
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A review of recent media headlines underscores the pessimistic imagery of Africa: Deadly Mutant Strain of
Malaria Appears to Have Reached Africa, Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2001; AIDS Obstacles Overwhelm A Small
South African Town, New York Times, March 29, 2001; Donations for Africa AIDS Initiative Fall Short by $1
Billion, Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, September 22, 2003; AIDS is Cutting African Life Span to 30-Year
Low, Report Says, New York Times, December 18, 2003; and, With Health System in Tatters, Zimbabwe Stands
Defenseless, New York Times. February 5, 2004.
These headlines overlook the determined efforts of the public and private sectors, which are working together to
find effective solutions to health crises in Africa. Public-private partnerships have been essential to eradicating
smallpox, eliminating river blindness, and achieving the near eradication of polio in Africa, and have contributed
to a decline in the occurrence of measles in the region.
Yet the public is largely unaware of the multitude of grassroots
programs throughout Africa that are integrating communities into the care of families and children affected
by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as the numerous local initiatives that are creating self-sufficient community based
programs to address broader health and poverty concerns.
Nor is the public aware of programs that are significantly
improving the quality of care delivered by service providers at the local level, or those targeting the
growing challenge of non-communicable diseases.
| The Africa Health Day initiatives has focused on this hope by highlighting some of the partnerships
between the private sector and civil society that are improving the health of women, men
and children in Africa. Thanks to our partnerships we have nearly eliminated river blindness
and we are eradicating leprosy and polio. (Dr. Ebrahim M. Samba) |
Africa Health Day 2004, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with Africare, AMREF USA and Medilinks, was intended to serve as a preliminary step in educating the American public about the many constructive and encouraging health programs in Africa that focus on health as a bridge to sustainable development. Great challenges remain in addressing the health crisis in Africa.
Still, hundreds of community and countrywide programs are being implemented daily and are making great strides in improving the health for millions of men, women and children in Africa. Africa Health Day sought to highlight some of these programs for American policymakers and the public.
The best health practices showcased at Africa Health Day 2004 demonstrated that people and organizations are meeting the challenge of moving from short-term responses to health care needs toward sustainable, replicable programs that are having a positive impact on the quality of health care. These efforts are changing behaviors for the long-term and are tackling the crosscutting issues of health, economic development and poverty.
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