NEWSROOM (ADV) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on Friday revealed that the African continent has significantly improved its health outcomes in recent decades.
ECA Executive Secretary Vera Songwe told a high-level meeting on health organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, that considerable achievements in the health sector had been recorded in Africa years.
From 1990 to 2015, life expectancy increased from 54 to 63, according to Songwe.
The head of ECA also reported that the number of women who died in childbirth and the number of children who died before the age of five had almost halved over the same period.
Ms. Songwe pointed out, however, that despite progress in the health sector, more needs to be done to achieve global and continental goals.
“While this progress is commendable, it is not fast enough to meet health-related sustainable development goals by 2030,” Songwe said.
According to Ms. Songwe, between 2000 and 2016, the under-five mortality rate decreased from 166 to 67 deaths per 1,000 live births in Ethiopia.
The high-level meeting was part of the “Africa Health Week” held in conjunction with the African Union (AU) Summit of Heads of State and Government last week. headquarters of the Pan-African bloc in Addis Ababa.
African Health Week brought together African public health decision-makers, health actors and regional and global private sectors to harness the continent’s potential and opportunities for financing its health sector .
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