The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), convened a 2-day roundtable discussion to reflect on priority strategies and reforms to accelerate progress towards achieving sustainable and effective financing of health in Uganda.

The event brought together health financing experts from various government ministries, departments and agencies, development and implementing partners, and academia to share evidence-based information on the health financing landscape in Uganda. Participants will identify, reflect on, and agree on policy and practice recommendations to improve the health system’s performance and meet the population’s health needs.

Countries committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal is to ensure that all people have access to the full range of quality health services they need without facing financial hardship whilst receiving needed health services. However, six years to the end of the SDG era, several countries, including Uganda, are facing challenges that are compromising their movement toward UHC.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, Uganda’s Minister of Health, pointed out that the country’s health resources are highly fragmented, resulting in a mismatch with government priorities leading to duplication and wastage of resources. “To achieve our goal of universal health coverage, I urge all partners to channel their resources through a single system to facilitate efficiency and coordination,” she said.

The Ministry of Health, with support from WHO and partners, has made commendable progress in improving the health financing landscape in Uganda. The government’s budget allocation to the sector has steadily increased, with an annual health budget growth rate of 10% in the 2022/23 financial year. Furthermore, the government has moved from input-output budgeting to program-based budgeting, which promotes efficiency and resource prioritization. To support strategic operations, results-based funding mechanisms have been introduced and integrated.

While these efforts are commendable, recent assessments of Uganda’s health financing system highlight persistent challenges to achieving UHC. “To meet our goal of Universal Health Coverage, it is essential to strengthen strategies to improve government resource allocation to the health sector and to ensure that donor efforts in support of essential health programs are sustainable,” said Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, WHO Representative to Uganda.

At the event, three health financing knowledge products that provide insights into the health financing landscape in Uganda were launched. They include the National Health Accounts 2016-2019, the Health Financing Progress Matrix 2024, and the Report of the Mid-term Review of the Health Financing Strategy.

“These products and the recommendations from this roundtable will inform subsequent policy dialogues and reforms to catalyze progress towards universal health coverage in Uganda,” concluded Christabell Abewe, the Health Financing Officer at WHO Uganda.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization – Uganda.

The President of the Republic of Liberia His Excellency Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Liberia and in his own name extended warmest felicitations to His Majesty King Harald V, the Government, and people of the of Kingdom of Norway on the occasion marking the celebration of the constitutional Day of that great country on May 17, 2024.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, President Boakai stressed that as the people of Norway commemorate this significant event, he reflects with appreciation the enduring relations between the two nations which have led to Norway’s invaluable support for Liberia’s developmental aspirations across pivotal sectors such as energy, security, and forest management.

He expressed his earnest desire that under his administration, these relations will further evolve to encompass collaborative ventures for the benefits between our respective peoples.

President Boakai then extended his sincere best wishes for the His Majesty King Harald V well-being, and for the continued peace and prosperity of the Royal family and the people of Norway.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Liberia.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) hosted a regional workshop from 14-16 May 2024 to review and validate the draft Roadmap to Leverage Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization for Climate Smart Agriculture (SAM4CSA) in Southern Africa.

The workshop brought together representatives from Regional Economic Communities (SADC and COMESA), SADC Member States, FAO experts, development partners, farmer organizations and the private sector and saw progress of SADC Members in developing their own roadmaps, setting up a Regional Committee on Agricultural Mechanization (ReCAM) as well as National Committees on Agricultural Mechanization (NaCAMs).

In addition to reviewing the draft regional roadmap, the workshop also provided an opportunity for development partners, private sector and government representatives to identify entry points for investment in the regional roadmap.

“Specifically, there were three major outputs from the workshop: a refined and validated regional SAM4CSA roadmap, guidelines for the establishment of functional Regional and National Mechanization Committees and buy-in from stakeholders in the region on sustainable agricultural mechanization and climate smart agriculture (CSA),” said Josef Kienzle, FAO Agricultural Engineer.

“This is a special occasion because Southern Africa becomes the first subregion in Sub-Saharan Africa to adopt a subregion-wide programmatic approach to the implementation of the Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa that was developed by FAO and the African Union Commission in 2018,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa.

The Framework for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (F-SAMA) was developed through a collaboration between FAO and the African Union Commission (AUC). The framework was published in 2018 and forms the basis for mechanization initiatives and promotion in Africa. The FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa has taken up domestication of the F-SAMA for CSA and made it a flagship programme.

Agricultural mechanization in Southern Africa, a time for action

Of the more than 360 million inhabitants in Southern Africa, an estimated 70% are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods and agriculture is the backbone of most economies in the region.

In the face of climate change, the livelihoods and economies of SADC Member States are under threat. There is increased realization that smallholder farmers in Southern Africa can only earn decent livelihoods and incomes from agriculture and increase their resilience to climate shocks if they are supported to mechanize and adopt climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices.

It is for this reason that FAO in Partnership with SADC drafted a roadmap to leverage sustainable agricultural mechanization for climate smart agriculture in Southern Africa. The roadmap is aligned to the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy and the FAO Strategic Framework, which seeks to boost agricultural production and productivity.

“Through sustainable mechanization, smallholder farming can be transformed into a more market-oriented business through improved land and labour productivity. It will also enable farmers to better adapt to climate change and lift themselves out of poverty,” said Mathew Abang, Plant Production and Protection Officer, FAO.

Next steps after the workshop

The validated roadmap for SAM4CSA in Southern Africa will be shared with SADC Ministers of Agriculture for their approval, through the SADC Secretariat. FAO will support countries in developing their own national roadmaps. Joint efforts will be made to mobilize resources for implementation of the road map at both national and regional levels. The national roadmaps will be developed to meet the needs and context of each Member State and will also remain aligned to the regional roadmap that has been developed.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) stated that they would use the SAM4CSA to develop and implement agricultural mechanization in COMESA.

“It is exciting that FAO and SADC invited us to be part of this roadmap. I am happy that some members of COMESA are here. This will make it easier for COMESA as we will not be developing our own road map. Instead, we are going to implement what FAO in collaboration with SADC have developed,” said John Mukuka, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance on Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), COMESA.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of FAO Regional Office for Africa.

The ECOWAS Directorate of Private Sector has convened experts and stakeholders from both the private and government sectors of the tourism industry for a five-day meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The focus of the meeting is on the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for ECOTOUR 19-29 and the ECOWAS Tourism Accommodation Regulator, aiming to optimize resource utilization and enhance operational efficiency.

At the technical meeting, participants will draft the operational texts for these mechanisms, establish the structure and modalities for their operation, and develop the monitoring and evaluation processes. Additionally, the meeting will support private sector participants in finalizing the creation of a regional confederation and prepare for the upcoming ECOWAS 1st Scientific Forum on Intra-Regional Tourism.

Mr. Folorunsho Coker, the Director General of the National Tourism Agency of Nigeria, called for the localization of policies taking into consideration the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of the region, which are very crucial to the successful growth of regional tourism and solidify West African cultural heritage.

“This is the season for collaboration, not competition, for joint marketing campaigns rather than individual ones. From our hotels to our airlines to our regional tourism assets, we must work together,” he said. “It is through this spirit of collaboration that we will grow pan-African tourism.”

Mr. Coker also urged both state and non-state actors work together to harmonize tourism regulations to provide guidelines for all activities in the sector. He emphasized the importance of introducing technology in tourism and training operators to compete globally. “We must embrace technology, or it will leave us behind,” he said.

Mr. Anthony Luka Elumelu, Acting Director of Private Sector, speaking on behalf of Madame Massandjé Toure-Liste, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, stated that the meeting drew inspiration from the ECOTOUR 19-29 action plan. This plan, adopted by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, was designed to serve as a roadmap for promoting responsible tourism.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).