03 Oct 2017

University of Botswana will today hold a public lecture on Transforming Africa’s Health at UB Conference Centre at 530pm.

A press release from UB states that WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshediso Moeti will be the guest speaker and will address issues surrounding Sub-Saharan African health landscape, which of late is being challenged with emerging and re-emerging diseases.

It says in 2005 non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 23 per cent of deaths in the sub-Saharan Africa, and deaths are expected to increase at much higher rates than those due to infectious diseases.

It further states that the World Health Organisation estimates that NCDs will account for 80 per cent of the global burden of diseases by 2020, causing seven out 10 deaths in developing countries, about half of them pre-mature deaths below 70 years of age.

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa (2013-2016) and the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome outbreaks in 2015 are recent examples that highlight the ease of disease transmission and need for the society to be aware.

Dr Moeti is the first Motswana woman acting as WHO Regional Director for Africa and she aims to build a responsive, effective and results-driven secretariat that can advance efforts towards universal health coverage and accelerate progress toward global development goals.

She joined WHO’s African Regional Office in 1999 and has served as deputy regional director, assistant regional director, director of von-communicable diseases, WHO Representative for Malawi and coordinator of the Inter-Country Support Team for South and East African countries.

Dr Moeti worked with UNAIDS as team leader of the African and Middle East Desk in Geneva (1997-199), with UNICEF AS Regional Health Advisor for East and Southern Africa.

She worked with Ministry of Health as a clinician and public health specialist, and notably she led WHO Regional Office for Africa’s efforts on treatment scale-up in the context of the ‘3 by 5’ initiative.

Dr Moeti has also successfully spearheaded the development of WHO Regional Strategies for public health priority areas including communicable and non-communicable diseases, immunisation, maternal and child health and the health systems strengthening.

She qualified in medicine (M.B, B.S) and public health (MSc in community health for developing countries) at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London in 1978 and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1986. ENDS