Speech by Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, Eac Secretary General at the 1St Meeting of the East Africa Open Health Initiative Partners‟ Forum

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EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

SPEECH BY AMB. DR. RICHARD SEZIBERA, EAC SECRETARY GENERAL AT THE 1ST MEETING OF THE EAST AFRICA OPEN HEALTH INITIATIVE PARTNERS‟ FORUM

6th June 2012

KIBO PALACE HOTEL, ARUSHA, TANZANIA

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Chairperson, Heads of Delegations; Health Policy and Finance Experts from the East African; Representatives from the International Collaborating Development Partners and Donor Agencies; Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen;

Let me take this opportunity to welcome you all to this inaugural meeting of the „East African Open Health Initiative Partners Forum‟ in support of the acceleration of the improvement in maternal and child health in the East African Community (EAC). I also take this opportunity to welcome you to the Beautiful City of Arusha, in the United Republic of Tanzania the official home of the EAC.

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Today, the EAC Partner States with a joint population of about 133.1 million all face similar challenges in terms of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) especially with regard to MDGs 4 & 5 that focus on maternal and child health. The latest regional statistics show that we need an average reduction of 65% to achieve MDG 4 and 61% to achieve MDG 5 as of 2010 (Source UN).

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The following summary shows the current country data as of year 2011.

Country Maternal Infant Under 5 Mortality Mortality Mortality X/100,000 X/1,000 Live X/1,000 Live Live Births Births Births Burundi 500 59 96 Kenya 360 52 74 Rwanda 487 50 76 Tanzania 454 51 85 Uganda 375 55 90

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Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

I would like to emphasize that the EAC countries are committed to implementing the “Global Strategy for Women‟s and Children‟s Health” that was launched in 2010 by the UN Secretary General in September 2010 in addition to the report and recommendations of the WHO “Commission on Information and Accountability for Women‟s and Children‟s Health” that was co-chaired by the President of The United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

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Recent years have seen considerable build up in commitments to women and children’s health in the world. The United Nations’ 2010 Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the United Nations’ Secretary-General’s special session that launched the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health marked a turning point for health in developing countries.

I would also like to inform you that the United Nations Secretary General’s initiative “Every Woman, Every Child” is a global strategy to improve the health of women and children and to accelerate progress towards the achievement of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. The commitments that emerged from diverse stakeholders were extraordinary in providing the means to achieve MDGs Goals 4 and 5.

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This UN Special Session built on the Global Campaign for the Health Millennium Development Goals that was launched at the Clinton Global Initiative by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and a group of world leaders in September 2007. President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative that was launched in 2009; the G8 Summit Muskoka Initiative and the African Union Summit on Maternal and Child Health both in 2010 and the efforts of the Network of Global Leaders.

In July 2010, as a show of commitment by the African Continent, the Heads of State and Governments from various African Countries gathered in Kampala, Uganda to discuss the major issues and challenges facing their continent with special focus on maternal, newborn and child health and the attainment of MDGs 4 (Child Survival) and 5 (Maternal Health). During this

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Summit, the African Heads of State pledged to meet the 15% Abuja (Nigeria Summit) target for allocation of national resources for health and also the creation of the “Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA)”.

Distinguished Guests; Ladies and Gentlemen;

In this regard and on an EAC front, the EAC Sectoral Council of Ministers for Health during their 7th Ordinary Meeting held on 29th March 2012 in Arusha, Tanzania approved the development of the proposal and budget for the implementation of the Open Health Initiative to improve maternal and child health in the East African Community Partner States with special focus on the following three thematic areas, namely:

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Accountability of results and resources, Results Based Financing and Innovation.

I am pleased to inform you that a recent meeting of the “East African Community Regional Inter-Parliamentary Forum on the Health Population And Development” held from 25th-26th May 2012 here in Arusha, Tanzania committed the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the East African Partner States’ National Parliaments committed to support the improvement of maternal and child health through increased access to information and accountability for results and resources in all the countries in the EAC region.

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I wish to also acknowledge and express gratitude to Friends of EAC who include the Royal Government of Norway for the support extended to the EAC through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) as well as the technical assistance through the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) which facilitated recent EAC country level consultations in support of the development of the Open Health Initiative proposal.

This consultation was instrumental in helping the Partners States identify three main common areas where the EAC as a regional intergovernmental organization could directly support the enhancement and the obtainment of MDGs 4 & 5 in regards to maternal and child health by 2015 which include:

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1) reaffirming political commitments for accountability of results and resources;

2) Creating knowledge-sharing platforms, and supporting regional expertise and exchanges, especially for innovative interventions to reach Every Women Every Child in the EAC Partner States; and

3) developing a possible funding mechanism for increased support to facilitate the scale-up of proven successful interventions.

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Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

The last two days has seen health, policy and finance technical experts from the EAC Partner States and other key stakeholders, including UNFPA, WHO and USAID discuss with you detailed thematic areas and how the EAC can play an additive role in improving maternal and child health in the region. The output of this technical expert meeting has been incorporated into the draft Open Health Initiative proposal which we are going to share and discuss this morning and thereafter consolidated through further country consultation in the EAC Partner States in July 2012 and forwarded for approval by the EAC Council of Ministers in September 2012.

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I would also like to inform you that we have planned for the implementation of the Open Health Initiative to be officially launched by the 14th Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State in November 2012 through a Communiqué and Declaration on the improvement of Maternal and Child Health in the EAC Partner States.

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for participating in the development of the Open Health Initiative and together we will all have positive impact on the health of women and children and the general population in the East African Region, the African Continent and the world at large.

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It is now my pleasure, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen to officially inaugurate the “East African Open Health Initiative Partners Forum (EA OHI Forum)” and declare its’ first meeting officially open.

Thank you and welcome again.