Research for health: a strategy for the African Region, 2016-2025: report of the Secretariat

1. The African Region bears a high double burden of communicable andnoncommunicable diseases, and faces health systems challenges in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a situation which may hinder the achievement of universal health coverage. Health research is critical in providing evidence-based solutions for the muchneededimprovement in health and development.2. Significant events to enhance research have occurred since the last strategic health research plan for the African Region 1999–2003. These include the Global Ministerial Summit on Health Research in 2004 and 2008, and for the African Region in 2008, as well as adoption of the first global research strategy in 2010. All stakeholders emphasized that policies and practices in support of health should be grounded in the best scientific knowledge.3. The national systems in the Region, required to facilitate the conduct and use ofresearch, are weak. This has led to the Region’s low contribution to global research output, and limited tools and products against diseases that disproportionately affect the Region.Hence, there is urgent need to prioritize research in order to close existing gaps.4. This Regional Research for Health Strategy aims at improving national health research systems through interventions derived from recent developments in research and includes an enabling environment, sustainable financing, human resources capacity-building, knowledge translation, and effective coordination and management.5. The Regional Committee examined and adopted the actions proposed and the related resolution.

Regional Orientation on the Implementation of the WHO Programme Budget 2016-2017: report of the Secretariat

1. The WHO Programme Budget for the 2016-2017 biennium is the second of the threebiennial budgets to be formulated within the Twelfth General Programme of Work, 2014–2019.It has been developed on the basis of a bottom-up approach for the definition of priorityprogrammes in the broader context of WHO reform aimed at building in the African Region anOrganization that is more effective, efficient, responsive, accountable and transparent.2. This document contains the regional perspectives for implementation of the ProgrammeBudget 2016-2017 in the African Region. It outlines key priorities, lessons learnt, budgetdistribution, guiding principles and roles and responsibilities of Member States and the WHOSecretariat. Details of budget figures are provided in the Annex.3. The World Health Assembly has adopted the overall WHO Programme Budget for the2016-2017 biennium, totalling US$ 4384.9 million. The African Region has been allocated ashare of US$ 1 162.3 million (26.5%), which represents an increase of US$ 42.3 million (3.8%)compared with the approved budget for the 2014-2015 biennium.4. The adopted bottom-up approach for the priority-setting process led to some shifts inbudget allocations across programmes in many countries. Despite increases noted in someprogrammes, the distribution of the budget across priorities still indicates an unbalanced budget.Thus, Members States and the WHO Secretariat need to intensify efforts to mobilize resourcesto better fund these regional priorities in order to offset limitations in the budget.5. The Regional Committee noted and adopted this document