Participation reflects government's commitment to Horizon 2020
development plan
Equatorial Guinea will
participate in the annual 65th World Health Assembly, which will be held at
the Palais de Nations in Geneva from May 21st through the 26th.
This year’s assembly will focus
primarily on public health issues such as universal health care, the Millennium
Development Goals and
noncommunicable diseases. In addition, the Health Assembly will address reform
and development within the World Health Organization.
Equatorial Guinea’s delegation
will be led by Salomon Nguema Owono, the Third Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare in the Social and Human rights Sector. Thérèse Aya N’Dri Yoman, Minister of Health and AIDS Control in
the Republic of Ivory Coast, and Jonas Gahr Støre, Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Norway and former Chief of Staff of the Director General of the WHO, will
also attend the Health Assembly.
Equatorial Guinea’s
participation in the 65th World Health Assembly is an indicator of the government’s
commitment to meet the goals of the Horizon 2020 development
plan set
by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. Equatorial Guinea has heavily invested
in its public health sector and contributed to international efforts to improve
public health, particularly in Africa. The government donated $15.8 million to
reduce malaria in
children last May 2011. In 2010, the government donated $1.5 million and a headquarters facility to the World Health Organization to
support research for global health.
Equatorial Guinea has also
provided technical assistance to the local United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA)
to improve the effectiveness of its assistance program and has implemented a
host of health programs geared toward improving the health of Equatorial
Guineans. Basic health indicators such as rates of infant and child mortality
have beenimproving steadily in the country, and the government is widely
recognized for its efforts to eradicate malaria.
