18 Jun 2018

The global health symposium has been described as beneficial to the current circumstances where the world faces a myriad of health challenges of a global nature.

Speaking at the symposium, Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Moiseraele Goya said the challenges called for the resetting of priorities in the health sector.

“Government’s strategy is to revitalise primary health care where the role of individuals, communities and the population at large in promoting health and wellness will be paramount,” he said. Mr Goya said the Institute of Development Management (IDM) and Boitekanelo College did not only provide skilled health care workers through pre-service and long-term training, but also endeavoured to strengthen the skills of workers who were already in the system.

“I am informed that the purpose of this global health symposium is to develop, facilitate and empower critical thinkers, leaders and researchers for building a resilient and responsive health system that also recognises the global health context in which we exist through research,” he said. He said the health system was faced with many challenges such as the emergence and re-emergence of epidemics, communicable and non-communicable diseases, natural disasters, societal and economic ills that impacted on the fabric of health systems.

He said in dealing with the challenges, they appreciated the need for practitioners and leaders who were well equipped with knowledge and skills to make appropriate, timely and evidence-based decisions to ensure health systems continued to be responsive to the needs of populations despite the challenges they faced.

Mr Goya commended IDM and Boitekanelo College for the initiative, saying by working together they were enabling a critical discourse in co-creating the requisite knowledge to engender stronger health systems. He encouraged all to continue forming effective and efficient synergies to help deliver a health care that was evidence-based, adding that the Ministry of Health and Wellness was committed to revitalising primary health care which remained the front and centre of the just ended 71st world health assembly.

“As we work to re-orient our health system and continue in our commitment for universal health coverages, ending HIV/AIDS, ensuring sustainable health care by all Batswana, we need to align our efforts with the global health agenda,” he said.

Welcoming the gathering, acting regional director of IDM, Mr Sipho Mbebe said the symposium created an environment for health professionals to build effective networks with experts in global health.

He said the global health foundation strived to build partnerships and investing in innovative solutions to improve the health of the people living in under resourced communities around the world.

He noted that the global health and its partners delivered solutions that equipped health care workers with tools and training to provide high-quality, sustainable and comprehensive solutions.

He said government had invested significantly on health education which had resulted in the emergence of institutions such as IDM, Boitekanelo College and others whose training, research and consultancy efforts on health were visible.

Mr Mbebe encouraged them to learn from experts and explore opportunities as challenges would always exist. Ends