AfricaPress-Tanzania: SADC Council of Ministers has resolved to form a special health committee to devise a regional health strategy to contain infectious diseases such as current COVID-19.
The Council’s resolution was in response to recommendation from SADC ministers responsible for health who met in Dar es Salaam last week under urgency following the outbreak of coronavirus.
The council resolved that a special committee be formed to look into what should be done regarding vaccinations.
According to SADC Executive Secretary Dr Stergomena Tax, the committee will consist of ministers responsible for health and will meet once for designing the regional strategy.
The council believes that the special committee would add more value in the fight against the COVID-19 which has so far been confirmed in some SADC member states including Namibia (2), South Africa (116), DR Congo (14), Tanzania (5) and Zambia (2).
“As we all know that the corona pandemic was alarming, it started in one country and now has spread into many countries,” she said when briefing journalists over resolutions made during the council of ministers’ video conference held on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam.
Thursday’s statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that there were 633 confirmed cases of COVID- 19 in 33 African countries with 17 deaths already reported across the continent, the least affected so far.
The SADC council of ministers also wanted immediate implementation of SADC Pooled Procurement Services (SPPS) by the Tanzania’s Medical Stores Department (MSD) to enable availability of drugs and medical devices at affordable prices in the member states in fighting the pandemic.
Two years ago, the SADC council of ministers selected the MSD as sole supplier of medicines and medical devices in the SADC countries as a move to address high costs of drugs in the region.
Meanwhile, the council has endorsed a budget of US dollars 94.9 million (about 218.7bn/-) for the regional bloc’s next financial year, meant to fund major priorities.
The SADC Secretariat has outlined some priority areas as industrial development, construction of road and railway infrastructures, security and safety, as well as improving social services such as education, health and environment.
The issue of budget allocation for the regional bloc was among agenda items tabled before the council of ministers videoconference presided over by its Chairperson Prof Palamagamba Kabudi at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.
The video conference was held on Wednesday upon which the SADC Executive Secretary Dr Stergomena Tax revealed resolutions made by the ministers.
The council of ministers videoconference mainly involved ministers from SADC member states who are responsible for finance and planning, industries and trade, foreign affairs and international cooperation.
“2020/21 new financial year for the SADC starts on April 1 and 2019/20 fiscal year ends on March 31. Therefore, the budget endorsement was one of the main agenda discussed during the meeting,” Dr Tax said.
On his part, council of ministers’ chairperson Prof Kabudi said the meeting discussed eight agenda items and will discuss other issues during its next conference in June this year before Tanzania hands over chairmanship of the regional body to Mozambique in August.
