"Women's health crucial for development," Afrol News, September 4, 2008.

...from Push Journal

African governments have been called to "ensure that women are in a state of physical, mental and social being" capable of carrying out their numerous responsibilities.

"By virtue of their multiple roles," the WHO Africa director Luis Sambo told a conference of health ministers in Cameroon that "women constitute a key link in the chain of development."

Dr. Sambo advised African governments to implement an action plan that seeks to improve women's overall well-being to enable them enhance their contribution to development efforts throughout the region. These include the integration of women issues into national policies and programmes on women's profile, the development and implementation of adolescent-friendly programmes on information and education and improved clinical services for women, especially those living in rural areas.

He also proposed strengthening the capacity of women, families and communities with a view to empowering women, and setting up a national multi-disciplinary team of experts in health, gender and human rights to conduct research on issues specific to women's health such as female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional practices.

Dr. Sambo further proposed the mobilization of resources essential for the effective implementation of essential interventions, and the development of an integrated communication plan to increase understanding of the importance of women's roles so as to promote a change of behaviour towards women's health issues.

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