15 Percent Health Commitment at Africa Union (AU) Abuja

Submitted by davidsmuk about 2 years ago

�

The Africa Public Health Alliance and the “15 Percent Now!” campaign, which was launched on the International Human Rights Day on 10th Dec 2006, was the first to show the world that Public Health for Africa is a rights and an important development issue across Africa and beyond. Up to now, it still brings together actors from various key sectors of civil society.

The Campaign is based on the premise that “we all have to be alive and well to exercise any other rights in any meaningful way” and therefore that right to health and to healthcare is arguably the most crucial right of all as articulated by Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the constitution of the World Health Organisation and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Current social development and health indicators from international and African institutions show that over 8 million African lives are lost annually to preventable, treatable and manageable health conditions and diseases mainly - Child Mortality, Maternal Mortality, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB.

Any loss of life to disease is bad enough. The annual loss of populations equivalent to entire African countries - and over a few years greater than the losses from all modern day global wars and conflicts combined is both unacceptable and unsustainable, and brings Africa closer to the slippery slope to collapse of society and extinction. Public Health is not realisable without adequate and sustainable health financing. Meeting the Abuja 2001 by African leaders to allocate 15 percent or more of annual budgets to health is crucial to Public Health in Africa. Yet this pledge remains largely unmet with just two countries, Botswana and Seychelles demonstrating their commitment to the 15 percent pledge.

The following is a Statement Released urging ALL African Governments to fulfill their pledge(s) NOW, this was at the�

Anniversary of Africa Union (AU) Abuja 15 Percent Health Commitment:� April 27 2008; www.africa15percentcampaign.org

* African Heads of State and Government Must Not Revise or Further Delay Implementation of AU Abuja April 2001 15 percent Health Commitment - Says Archbishop Desmond Tutu and 15 Percent Now Campaign.

* 141 African and Global Organisations and Networks Call on African Leaders and Finance Ministers to Restate 15 Percent Commitment at Next AU Summit in Egypt.

* The Loss of over 8 million African Lives Annually to Preventable, Treatable or Manageable Health Conditions is Equal to 43 Transatlantic Jets with 500 Passengers Each Crashing Every Single Day.�

On the 7th Anniversary of the pledge by African Union member states to allocate 15 percent of national budgets to health, Nobel Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Africa Public Health Alliance 15 percent Now Campaign of which he is Honorary Chair have urged African Heads of State and Government not to in any way revise, drop or further delay implementing the Abuja April 2001 commitment.

In a communiqu� from its recent Abuja conference released today and supported by 141 African and global organisations and networks, the 15 Percent Now Campaign also made a 7 point call on African Heads of State and Ministers of Finance.

In a statement to mark the anniversary of the 15 Percent pledge Archbishop Tutu stated:�

“The AU Abuja 15 percent pledge is one of the most important commitments African leaders have made to health development and financing, and our Heads of State should strive to meet this pledge without further delay. The continued loss of millions of African lives annually which can be prevented is unacceptable and unsustainable. Our leaders know what they have to do. They have already pledged to do it. All they have to do now is actually do it. This is all we ask of them.”�

The Nobel Prize Winner underlined that:

“While global health is a global responsibility, African leaders also have a moral responsibility to our people. Just as we expect the international community to honour their commitments to global health, we also expect African leaders to honour African commitments”.

Coordinator of the 15 Percent Now Campaign Rotimi Sankore added that:

“It is a tragedy that we have to remind African leaders of their own commitment to invest public funds in Public Health at a time when we are loosing over 8 million lives a year to preventable, treatable or manageable health conditions. This is the equivalent of 21,917 lives lost daily or the equivalent of 43 transatlantic jets with 500 passengers each crashing every single day.”�

“While we appreciate the concerns of some of our Finance Ministers that there are many issues requiring their attention,� Africa’s most important resource is its human capital and sustainable social and economic development is impossible with average African healthy life expectancy falling to less than 40 years. The more we postpone public health investment, the more it will cost us in the future. For instance, the cost of not treating TB to Africa between 2006 and 2015 would be US $519 billion while TB can be controlled with US $20 billion in the same period.”�

He emphasized that: �

“Nothing can or should compete with public health. Dead people don’t eat, dead people don’t need education, they don’t live in houses and do not require transport or electricity. African’s must first be alive and healthy to enjoy any other rights. The African Union Commission has delivered on the Africa Health Strategy and other health policy frameworks and its up to our Finance Ministers to fund their implementation.”

The 15 Percent Campaign Coordinator stressed that:

“Poor reproductive and sexual health is at the core of Africa’s high disease burden. HIV is primarily a sexual and reproductive health issue, and costs Africa 1.6 million lives annually. Poor reproductive health systems also impact greatly on infant and child health leading to 4.8 million child deaths a year, and over half of non-disease maternal deaths globally are in Africa. Considering that TB is now the biggest killer of HIV positive persons, and malaria now has an increasing impact on maternal and child mortality, it is clear that without massive investment to rebuild our public health systems Africa may die out slowly and painfully.”

“Training and retention of African health workers is particularly crucial. Medicines as important as they are - do not diagnose illness, prescribe or dispense themselves, nor care for patients, health workers do.

In the Communiqu� from its recent conference, the 15 Percent Now Campaign called on “Fellow members of African Civil Society, the health and medical community, other sectors of society and global partners to join us in building the biggest continental, sub-regional, national and community based movement possible for ensuring that health development, financing and budgeting on a needs based basis and the 15 percent commitment is implemented as Africa’s top social and economic development priority.”

Statement ENDS.

 

Full Communiqu� supported by 141 African and global organisations and networks below.

Communiqu� of Africa Public Health Alliance “15% Now!” Campaign

Public Health Development & Financing Strategy Development Conference

Abuja, Nigeria 15-18 April 2008�

[Held to Mark the Anniversary of the 27 April 2001 - AU Abuja Health Declaration]

We partners, participants and organisations dedicated to Public Health Development and Financing in Africa:

Acknowledging the efforts and commitments of African governments to address Africa’s enormous Public Health crisis through: the AU Abuja April 2001 declaration incorporating the pledge by member states to allocate at least 15 percent of the national budgets to health; the 2007 African Union Health Strategy and other African health frameworks such as the Maputo Plan on Reproductive and Sexual Health, the AU plan on HIV, TB and Malaria, the African Pharmaceutical Plan and the health based MDGs.

Concerned that slow progress or non adherence to the above commitments has resulted in the unacceptable and unsustainable loss of over 8 million lives a year to preventable, treatable and manageable diseases and health conditions – and the continued devastating economic and social cost of not implementing African health commitments and the MDGs - the only continent to suffer this tragedy as gravely underlined by the following statistics:

[1] For Tuberculosis: African’s living with TB are currently estimated to be 4.2 million with 2.8 million new cases annually making TB one of Africa’s greatest Public Health threats. African TB deaths are now running at 639,089 per annum – the highest in the world (38.6% of global deaths). TB is also the biggest killer of HIV positive people an increasing number of which are women; Africa’s pivotal countries, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC, South Africa have the continents highest overall TB prevalence levels; and a person with active TB can infect 10 to 15 persons a year. Latest Stop TB partnership/World Bank analysis indicates that the cost of not treating TB to Africa between 2006 and 2015 would be US $519 billion while TB can be controlled with $20bn in the same period.

For HIV: Latest statistics for 2007 indicate that HIV prevalence in Africa is 22.5 million of the global total of 33.2 million, with 1.7 million new infections annually; Annual AIDS related death figures for Africa are 1.6 million and AIDS Orphans are estimated at 12 million; the 10 countries globally with highest HIV-TB co-infection are African 9 being from SADC and the 10th Kenya.

For Malaria: Annual African deaths are estimated at 1,136,000 (89.3%) of the world total with an increasing impact on maternal, infant and child health. Malaria costs Africa more than US $12 billion in lost GDP annually although it can be controlled for a fraction of this sum.

For Maternal Mortality: Latest comparable global maternal death statistics indicate that of the 536,000 women that died in 2005 of childbirth related complications, about half or 261,000 were African women. The 2005 figures also indicate that Africa is the only region where maternal deaths have increased since 1990 up from 205,000. Maternal deaths, which are almost 100% preventable, dropped in every other continent over the same period.

For Child Mortality:� Most worryingly for the future of Africa, an estimated 4.8 million children under the age of 5 years die annually. Just five diseases - pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, measles and AIDS - account for half of these deaths.�

Often ignored environmental health issues, or neglected diseases such as river blindness or Onchocerciasis and Human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness together affect around 60m people in 36 African countries - and in turn facilitate vulnerability to HIV, TB, malaria, maternal and child mortality.

Aware that the above constitutes an infringement on the right to health of African citizens as guaranteed in Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Article 12 of the International Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, The World Health Organisation constitution, and other instruments.�

Recognising that if the 15% pledge and overall increased per capita expenditure on health on a needs based budget is not prioritised that Africa’s rapidly rising disease burden means we are faced with the real possibility of devastating consequences on African populations – which will in turn permanently undermine all other development efforts.

Further Recognising that Africa’s human capital is its greatest asset and that there can be no competing priorities more important than the lives of citizens – as other issues are meaningless if the people they are meant for are dead.

Hereby resolve and call on:

1. African Heads of State and Government to restate their commitment to the Abuja 15% pledge and increasing overall per capita expenditure on health at the next AU Summit and to accelerate its implementation.

2. African Ministers of Finance. Planning and Economic Development to urgently work with Health Ministers through a joint meeting to develop the details for the implementation of the Africa Union Health Strategy and other Health Frame works.

3. The African Union and UN-Economic Commission for Africa to implement the recommendations for the joint meeting with Health Ministers as adopted by the conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development organised by both AU and ECA in April 2008.

4. African leaders to recognise that just as the global community urges the more industrialised countries to meet their own commitments to global health, that African governments are also expected to honour national commitments.

5. Regions, states, provinces and local governments within countries to recognise that they have a responsibility to provide needs based primary health care services and as such must allocate commensurate amounts of financing for health.

6. African national, sub-regional and continental parliaments to ensure implementation of the AU Abuja 15% commitment, combined with commensurate overall increase of per capita expenditure on health and implementation of the Africa Union Health Strategy.

7. African governments to invest in strengthening of health systems to guarantee the population a sustainable quality health care and retention of health professionals.

Towards holding African leaders accountable for their commitments, we urge fellow members of African Civil Society, the health and medical community, other sectors of society and global partners to join us in building the biggest continental, sub-regional, national and community based movement possible for ensuring that health development, financing and budgeting on a needs based basis and the 15% commitment is implemented as Africa’s top social and economic development priority.

Signatories –15 Percent Now Campaign Partners, Participants in Conference and organisations dedicated to Public Health Development and Financing in Africa:�

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Noble Prize Winner and Honorary Chair Africa Public Health Alliance 15 Percent Now Campaign

1.���� Action Group for Health, Human Rights and HIV/AIDS (AGHA), Uganda

2.���� 2Actors Guild of Nigeria

3.���� ACTWID KONGADZEM ACTIVISTS NETWORK, BAMENDA, CAMEROON

4.���� Advocacy Nigeria – Promoting Reproductive Health

5.���� Africa Against AIDS Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe

6.���� Africa Civil Society Coalition on HIV and AIDS

7.���� Africa Health Research Organization

8.���� Africa Internally Displaced Persons Voice (Africa IDP Voice)

9.���� Africa Japan Forum, Japan

10. Africa Public Health Development Trust

11. African Council for Sustainable Health Development (ACOSHED)

12. African Network of Adolescents and Youth in Population and Development (AfriYAN)

13. African Federation of Medical Associations [AFMA]

14. African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA+)

15. African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)

16. AfriCASO (African Council of AIDS Service Organizations)

17. Afro Global Alliance

18. Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD)

19. ASSOCIATION BURUNDAISE POUR LE BIEN-ETRE FAMILIAL (ABUBEF)

20. Association African Solidarit� ( A.A.S), Ouagadougou/ Burkina Faso

21. Association of Kenyan Medical Women

22. Association for Reproductive and Family Health, Nigeria

23. Association of Religious Leaders Living with HIV/AIDS [NINERELA+] – Nigeria

24. Cameroon National Association for Family Welfare

25. Civil Society Alternative Process of Sierra Leone (CSAP-SL)

26. Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA)

27. Centre for Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa (CEGAA)

28. Center for Health and Gender Equity – USA

29. Centre for Health Science Training Research and Development (CHESTRAD)

30. Centre for Hospital and Health Services Improvement (CHAHSI)

31. C-CfA Uganda Unit�� - Uganda.

32. Coalition of African Parliamentarians Against HIV/AIDS (CAPAH)

33. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre – CISLAC Nigeria

34. Civil Society MDG Campaign/GCAP Zambia

35. Coexist Initiative Kenya

36. CONSEIL NATIONAL DE LA JEUNESSE DJIBOUTIENNE (CNJD)

37. Community Working Group on Health (CWGH), Zimbabwe

38. Cordaid, the Netherlands

39. CORE Group Ethiopia

40. Cross-of Ministries International Uganda (CGMI),

41. Democratic Nurses Association of South Africa [DENOSA]

42. Development Alternatives With Women for New Era (DAWN-Africa),

43. Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS Service Organizations (EANNASO)

44. Ethiopian Nurses Association

45. Fantsuam Foundation

46. Friends of the Global Fund Africa

47. Gender and Transport Network (GATNET)

48. Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, Ghana

49. Ghana Medical Association

50. Greenbelt Movement International

51. Health Action AIDS Kenya Association

52. Health Economics and HIV Research Division (HERD) Kwazulu Natal University

53. Health Education and Research Services (OHERS)

54. Health GAP (Global Access Project) USA

55. Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON)

56. Health Rights Advocacy Forum – Kenya

57. Health Triangle, Zambia

58. Health Workforce Advocacy Forum (HWAF) Uganda

59. Hoima Environmental Project�� - Uganda

60. International coalition of AIDS activists.

61. International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD)

62. International Planned Parenthood Federation – Africa

63. International Press Centre

64. International Refugee Rights Initiative

65. International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC)

66. Initiative For Community Development, Nigeria

67. Institute for Consumer Protection, Mauritius

68. Institute for Democracy in South Africa – Governance & Aids Prog (IDASA)

69. IPAS

70. Japan AIDS and Society Association, Japan

71. Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria

72. Kenya Aids NGO Coalition

73. Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA)

74. Kenya Medical Association

75. Kenya Medical Women’s Association

76. Kenya Treatment Access Movement-KETAM

77. KIGEZI Healthcare Foundation, Uganda

78. Macarthur Foundation

79. Malawi Health Equity Network

80. MATRAM-Mozambique AIDS Treatment Access Movement

81. National Nurses Association of Kenya

82. National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya

83. Network of People living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria [NEPWHAN]

84. Network Together for the Sustainable Development of the District of Arta in the Republic of Djibouti.

85. Network of Zimbabwean Positive Women (NZPW+)

86. NIGERIA HIV/AIDS RESEARCH NETWORK (NARN)

87. Nigerian Medical Association

88. Nigerien des personnes vivant avec le VIH-SIDA

89. Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)

90. Oeuvre de Charit� et D�veloppement de LEMBA (OCDL ongd/asbl) DRC

91. Oxfam International

92. Packard Foundation

93. Pan African Parliament (Health, Labour and Social Affairs Committee)

94. People’s Health Movement, South Africa

95. PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management)

96. Population Action International (PAI)

97. Positive Life Association of Nigeria (PLAN), Ibadan, Nigeria

98. POSITIVE-Generation (Cameroon)

99. Positive Women’s Network, South Africa

100.� �PPFA – Nigeria

101.� �Public Health Association of South Africa

102.� �Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)

103.� �RAFIKI REHABILITATION PROGRAMME

104.� �Regional Network for Equity on Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), East and Southern Africa

105.� �Rozaria Memorial Trust

106.� �Santayalla Support Society (Togo)

107.� �SILVERLINE DEVELOPMENT INTIATIVES, Nigeria

108.� �SAFEHAVEN INTERNATIONAL, Nigeria

109.� �Society For The Prevention and Eradication of Tuberculosis in Nigeria

110.� �Society for Women and AIDS in Africa – Southern Africa (SWAA Mozambique),

111.� �Socio Economic Rights Initiative, Nigeria and USA

112.� �South African Medical Association (SAMA)

113.� �Southern Africa HIV & AIDS Dissemination Services (Safaids),

114.� �Southern and East African Alliance of Parliamentary Committees on Health and HIV/AIDS (SEAPACOH)

115.� �Stop TB and HIV/AIDS-The Gambia,

116.� �Stop TB Partnership

117.� �Sudanese People Living with HIV/AIDS Care Association

118.� �TANERELA (Tanzania Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Personally Affected By HIV and AIDS.

119.� �Tbaction Kenya

120.� �Trade Union Confederation of Sierra Leone (TUC-SL

121.� �Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

122.� �Treatment Action Group (TAG), USA.

123.� �Treatment Action Movement (TAM) - Nigeria.

124.� �Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)

125.� �Tuberculosis National League (Cameroon),

126.� �Uganda Medical Association

127.� �Upendo Widows group, Kenya.

128.� �Women Advocates and Research Documentation Centre (WARDC)

129.� �Womens Legal Centre, Cape Town South Africa.

130.� �World AIDS Campaign (WAC)

131.� �World Vision International

132.� �World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA)

133.� �Youth For Community Academic and Development Services(YOCADS), Liberia

134.� �Youth Hotline Network, Nigeria

135.� �Youth Network for Millennium Development Goals

136.� �Youth Inter-community Network, Thika Kenya.

137.� �Youth Vanguard For Social Justice, Kebbi State, Nigeria.

138.� �Zambia AIDS Law Research & Advocacy Network in Zambia

139.� �ZIMBABWE AIDS NETWORK, ZIMBABWE.

140.� �Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians

141.� �Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network (ZCRWN)

142.� �Inter governmental / Global Health Partnership Organisations

143.� �DFID / International Health Partnership

144.� �East, Central & Southern African Health Community

145.� �Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria

146.� �Global Stop TB Partnership

147.� �UN Millennium Campaign

148.� �UNAIDS

149.� �UNFPA

150.� �WHO

2006 to 2008 reports of PMNCH, Stop Tb Partnership, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, RBM Partnership, WHO, World Bank and others

For further information Contact:

Africa - Tel: +234 703 6886 199 or�

Global - Tel: +44 (0)207 226 2933

Email: media@africapublichealth.org

Africa Public Health Alliance – “15 Percent Now!” Campaign.

---------------------------------

Support the Africa Public Health Rights Alliance 15 Percent Now Campaign for the Right to Health, Sustainable Health Development and Financing in Africa - www.africa15percentcampaign.org

Africa Office:

Africa Public Health Alliance “15 Percent Now!” Campaign

11 Dideolu Estates, Ogba, Lagos, Nigeria

Tel: +23416611899; Tel/Fax: +2341492556

Int Office:

Africa Public Health Alliance “15 Percent Now!” Campaign

AFA, 22 Highbury Grove, London N5 2DQ

Tel: +44 (0)20 7226 2933, Fax +44 (0)20 7226 2934

Keywords: commitment declaration governments Human rights

Uganda 1 comments Mail a friend Edit