The president of Senegal has called on African leaders to increase their investment of resources into health.

The sixty-eighth session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Africa is taking place in Dakar, Senegal, from 27-31 August.

In an address to the event, Senegal President Macky Sall urged African countries to invest more resources into health in order to address the challenges faced every day by the continent. He particularly drew attention to the growing problem of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and emergencies.

“NCDs and other epidemic outbreaks are revealing the weakness in our general health systems and indeed surveillance systems. Africa suffers if these epidemics and the NCDs are not effectively managed,” he said, according to a WHO press release.

In order to tackle these challenges, the governing body of WHO in the African Region is discussing a range of documents during the week. These include the regional framework for the implementation of the global strategy for cholera prevention and control, sustainable financing for universal health coverage, the roadmap for medicine and vaccines access as well as a global strategy on health, environment and climate change. Also on the agenda is ratification of the protocol to eliminate illicit trade in tobacco products, and progress reports for malaria, viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Image Credits: WHO.