Reflections on the decade of the neglected tropical diseases.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of diseases that disproportionately affect the poorest of the poor. While for years attention has focused on single diseases within this group, efforts during the past decade have resulted in their being grouped together to highlight that they are fundamentally diseases of neglected populations. The formation of a World Health Organization department to address these diseases consolidated the efforts of the many stakeholders involved. In the past decade, focus has shifted from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where NTDs are not mentioned, to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where NTDs are not only mentioned, but clear indicators are provided to measure progress. It has also been a decade where many NTD programmes have scaled up rapidly thanks to work by affected countries through their master plans, the commitment of partners and the unprecedented donations of pharmaceutical manufacturers. This decade has also seen the scaling down of programmes and acknowledgement of the elimination of some diseases in several countries. Given the successes to date, the challenges identified over the past decade and the opportunities of the coming decade, the NTD Programme at the WHO is working with partners and stakeholders to prepare the new NTD roadmap for 2021 to 2030. The focus is on three major paradigm shifts: a change of orientation from process to impact, a change in technical focus from diseases to delivery platforms and a change from an external-based agenda and funding to a more country-led and funded implementation within health systems. This article reviews the past decade and offers a glimpse of what the future might hold for NTDs as a litmus test of SDG achievements.

Transformation of World Health Organization's management practice and workforce to fit the priorities of African countries.

INTRODUCTION: The WHO Regional Office for Africa developed an evidence-based tool, called the Dalberg tool to guide the functional review and restructuring of the workforce and management of the country offices to better fit the health priorities of Member States. METHODS: The Dalberg tool was used in conjunction with a series of consultations and dialogues to review twenty-two countries have undergone the functional review. Results: the "core functions" in WHO country offices (WCOs) were identified. These are health coordination, strengthening of health systems, generation of evidence and strategic information management, and preparedness against health emergencies. RESULTS: In order to standardize country office functions, categorization of countries was undertaken, based on specific criteria, such as health system performance towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), health emergencies, burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, subnational presence and national population size. CONCLUSION: Following the functional review, the staff is now better aligned with country and organizational priorities. For example, the functional review has taken into consideration: (i) the ongoing polio transition planning; (ii) the implementation of the WHO emergency programme in countries; (iii) the investment case for strengthening routine immunization in Africa; and (iv) regional flagship programmes, such as adolescent health and UHC. The delivery of the core functions above will require the hiring of additional capacities and expertise in most country offices if deemed fit-for-purpose.

Proceedings of the first African Health Forum: effective partnerships and intersectoral collaborations are critical for attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Africa.

BACKGROUND: Universal Health Coverage (UHC)is central to the health Sustainable Development Goals(SDG). Working towards UHC is a powerful mechanism for achieving the right to health and promoting human development which is a priority area of focus for the World Health Organization WHO. As a result, the WHO Regional Office for Africa convened the first-ever Africa Health Forum, co- hosted by the government of Rwanda in Kigali in June 2017 with the theme "Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa". The Forum aimed to strengthen and forge new partnerships, align priorities and galvanize commitment to advance the health agenda in Africa in order to attain UHC and the SDGs. This paper reports the proceedings and conclusions of the forum. METHODS: The forum was attended by over 800 participants. It employed moderated panel and public discussions, and side events with political leaders, policy makers and technicians from ministries of health and finance, United Nations agencies, the private sector, the academia, philanthropic foundations, youth, women and non-governmental organizations drawn from within and outside the Region. CONCLUSIONS: The commitment to achieve UHC was a collective expression of the belief that all people should have access to the health services they need without risk of financial hardship. The attainment of UHC will require a significant paradigm shift, including development of new partnerships especially public-private partnerships in selected areas with limited government resources, intersectoral collaboration to engage in interventions that affect health but are outside the purview of the ministries in charge of health and identification of public health issues where knowledge gaps exist as research priorities. The deliberations of the Forum culminated into a "Call-to-Action" - Putting People First: The Road to Universal Health Coverage in Africa, which pledged a renewed determination for Member States, in partnership with the private Sector, WHO, other UN Agencies and partners to support the attainment of the SDGs and UHC. There was agreement that immediate action was required to implement the call-to-action, and that the African Regional Office of WHO should develop a plan to rapidly operationalize the outcomes of the meeting.