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Ses s i on o f t he J o i n t Ac t i on F o r u m

Issued in Arabic, English and French - available on internet: h�p//www.who.int/apoc

JOURNALJOURNALJOURNALJOURNAL N°1 12 December 2011

I am most honored to

welcome members of the JAF and other participants to the seventeenth session of the Joint Action Forum taking place in the beautiful capital city of Kuwait.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude and heartfelt thanks to the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for the generous hospitality they have graciously extended to every participant attending this meet-ing, and the excellent facilities to ensure a successful meeting.

To the donors, NGDOs and other partners, I say a sincere ‘thank you’ for your continuous commitment and support to onchocerciasis control in Africa, and to alleviating the suffering of onchocerciasis endemic communities. There are critical issues to be discussed during this meeting and you will be called upon to take some major decisions that will affect the future of the programme and the direction it must take in the next few years. I know that, as always, you will come up with the right decisions that will continue to improve the lives of the poor rural population most affected by river blindness. I wish you fruitful deliberations.

Dr Luis G. Sambo

WHO Regional Director

T he 17th session of the Joint Action Forum (JAF) of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) opens today at the

conference hall of Sheraton Kuwait Hotel & Towers. This year’s session, meeting from 12 to 14 December 2011, is most graciously hosted by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

The JAF is the governing board of APOC and comprises Ministers of health of the 20 participating countries, 20 donors, 15 Non-governmental Development Organizations (NGDOs) and the private sector, Merck & Co., Inc. The JAF meets once a year to decide on the strategies, objec-tives and policies of the Programme, discuss and approve APOC’s plan of action and budget, and review the progress report of APOC. The elev-en ex-OCP countries are invited to the December session.

During the three day meeting many critical issues will be discussed by participants and some important decisions that will determine the future of onchocerciasis control in Africa are expected to be made by the JAF.

17TH SESSION OF THE JOINT ACTION FORUM

OPENS TODAY IN KUWAIT CITY

WELCOME REMARKS BY

THE WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR /AFRO

Na�onal Anthem and short Cita�on of The Holy Quran

Opening Statement by H.E. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-

Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of

Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Directors

of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development

09:00 - 09:10

Address by the Chair of JAF16, H.E. Prof. Chukwu

Onyebuchi, Minister of Health, Nigeria

09:10 – 09:20

Address by the APOC Director, Dr. Paul Samson Lusamba

Dikassa

09:20 – 09:30

Introductory Video Film on the Unique Partnership of

APOC

09:30 – 09:40

Adjournment for Opening of the Exhibi:on, Coffee

Break and Departure of H.E. The Minister of Foreign

Affairs

09:40 – 10:10

PROGRAMME FOR OPENING CEREMONY - MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2011, 09:00 - 10:30

Address by Mr. Henrik Secher, Managing Director for

Africa, Merck & Co. Inc.

10:10 – 10:15

Address by a Senior Member of the Gates Founda:on,

Dr. Julie Jacobson

10:15 – 10:20

Keynote Address by the WHO Regional Director 10:20 – 10:30

Resump�on of the Opening Session

CONTENTS

Welcome message from APOC Director Page 2

Highlights since JAF 16

Programme of work Day 1

Programme of work Day 1 cont’d Page 3

Programme of work Day 2

JAF 17 guide & important contacts

Kuwait Fund celebrates 50 years of development work Page 4

2

It is with the greatest pleasure that I welcome JAF members and other participants to the 17th session of the Joint Action Forum (JAF). I feel very privileged and honored to attend my first JAF meeting as Director of APOC.

Our profound gratitude and thanks go to the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for hosting this session and for the very excellent facilities placed at the disposal of every participant at this meeting.

We also thank most sincerely all the donors, NGDOs, countries and partners who have travelled to Kuwait for this meeting and for their continuous support to the APOC Programme.

There are many important items on the agenda of this session - critical issues will be discussed and important decisions taken. I wish you successful deliberations.

The daily journal available in Arabic, English and French will give you an overview of the proceedings of various sessions of the meeting, statements from different participants, as well as provide useful information about the meeting and your stay in Kuwait City.

The APOC secretariat is at your disposal for any further information or assistance you may require.

I wish you all a pleasant stay in Kuwait City.

HIGHLIGHTS SINCE JAF16

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME OF WORK - DAY I

MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2011

OPENING SESSION

08:00

09:00

Registra:on

08:00 -

11:05

09:00

10:00

1. Opening session

10:30

10:40

2. Elec:on of the Officers

10:40

10:45

3. Adop:on of the Agenda

10:45

11:05

4. Reflec:ons of the CommiFee of Sponsoring

Agencies

CDTI: IMPLEMENTATION/MONITORING/EVALUATION/SURVEILLANCE

11:05

11:25

11:25

11:45

5. Report of the world Health Organiza:on

Discussion

11:45

12:35

12:35

13:00

6. Country reports

(i) Statements by Honorable Ministers of Health -

Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, CAR, DRC,

Equatorial Guinea, Chad )

(ii) Treatment coverage: Presenta:on by

Representa:ves of countries

11:05 -

18:15

Lunch Break (programme cont’d on page 3)

WELCOME MESSAGE OF THE APOC DIRECTOR

Change at the Helm of APOC: Dr Paul-Samson Lusamba-Dikassa took

over as the new director of APOC in April 2011 following the retirement of

Dr Uche Veronica Amazigo in March 2011. Before joining APOC,

Dr Lusamba-Dikassa was Director of Programme Management at the

WHO Regional Office for Africa. Dr Lusamba-Dikassa holds the degrees of

Doctor of Medicine, Master of Public Health, and Doctor of Philosophy

(PhD) in Epidemiology.

First African Donation to the APOC Trust Fund: At the last JAF, Gen-

eral T. Y. Danjuma, founder of the NGDO MITOSATH announced that

he would donate the sum of one million US dollars to the APOC Trust

Fund to show his support for the unique partnership that has done so

much for onchocerciasis control. General Danjuma commended APOC

for alleviating the sufferings of rural populations in Africa. The funds were

booked into the APOC Trust Fund at the World Bank in October 2011.

Finalization of the RAPLOA Map: The occurrence of severe adverse

events (SAEs) in areas with co-endemicity of Loa loa and onchocerciasis

has been one of the serious challenges APOC has had to face. Based on

results of RAPLOA surveys carried out in 4798 villages in 11 Sub-Saharan

African countries, and using GIS tools and geo-statistical methods, a

contour map of the estimated prevalence of loiasis in Africa was developed,

and has been shared with other partners in NTDs control/elimination

programmes. This map is particularly useful for oncho control and LF

elimination programmes, and can be used to predict where ivermectin

treatment for onchocerciasis can be safely implemented, among other

things.

A P O C W i n s t h e

António Champalimaud

Vision Award: The António

Champalimaud Vision Award

was created in 2006 and is

supported by the World

Health Organization’s “Vision

2020: The Right to Sight”.

Every odd year, the award

recognizes the work carried out by organizations working locally in the

prevention of and the fight against blindness and other eye disorders,

mainly in developing countries. This award, 1 million Euros was given to

APOC in September 2011 in recognition of its outstanding contribution to

the prevention, control and fight against onchocerciasis or River blindness.

Donors Visit APOC Headquarters:

A delegation from the Saudi Fund for

Development visited APOC HQ on

11 May 2011 to follow up on ongoing

APOC projects and discuss future

cooperation between APOC and the

Saudi Fund. The Saudi Fund’s

financial contribution to APOC operations has been constant since 2004 and

their pledges and disbursement of funds would have amounted to more than

$US 5,000,000 by 2015. The delegation commended APOC for the impres-

sive results on the ground, achieved with less than $US 1 per treatment, and

declared that the Saudi Fund will continue to support APOC until elimination

of infection and interruption of the transmission of the disease are achieved.

3

Medical Services: An ambulance is available 24 hours

In Case of emergencies: Call 8 on the hotel telephone before 5pm; AKer 5pm call duty manager on 99768972 or

contact the concierge in the hotel lobby.

Help desk: is located in the hotel lobby

Ticke�ng & travel informa�on: Contact Business Centre in

the lobby

JAF17 Exhibi�on: Coral Ballroom lobby level

Banking: ATM machine in the lobby in the arcade

Na:onal Bank of Kuwait located across the street

from the hotel

Badges: Will be delivered to rooms

Mee�ng rooms: Opening ceremony : Crystal Ball Room -

Plenary sessions: Diamond Ball Room

Closed sessions Ministers, Donors, NGDOs :

Emerald A Room, Emerald B Room, Emerald C Room

Special Events: Dinner offered by Kuwait Fund on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 at Radisson Blue, Al Hashemi Hall.

Departure from hotel lobby at 7:30pm

Working hours: 8:30 –12:30 & 14:00—18:00 with coffee breaks at 10:00 & 16:00

Interpreta�on: Simultaneous interpreta:on is available in Arabic, English, French and Portuguese.

JAF 17 GUIDE & IMPORTANT CONTACTS

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME OF WORK - DAY II

TUESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2011

PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE

08:30-08:40 19. Amendments to part II of the Memorandum for APOC Conclusion and practical arrangements for signature

CDTI: IMPLEMENTATION/MONITORING/EVALUATION/SURVEILLANCE (CONT’D)

08:40-09:00 9. Elimination of Onchocerciasis transmission in Africa: recent evaluation studies and update on disease distribution map

STRENGTHENING HEALTH SYSTEMS AND CO-IMPLEMENTATION

09:00-09:20 09:20-09:30

10. Co-implementation: - Integrated mapping of five NTDs and mapping of loiasis (eye worm) - Co-implementation

09:30-09:45 09:45-10:05 10:05-10:10

11. Capacity building of countries Discussions on agenda items 9, 10 & 11 Conclusions and decisions on agenda items 9,10 and 11

10:10-10:40 Tea Break

THE FUTURE OF APOC

10:40-10:50

10:50-10:55 10:55-11:00 11:00-11:05 11:05-11:20

Introductory film by the World Bank & APOC

12. Report of the CSA on the Future of APOC

(i) External views on Co-implementation (ii) External views on Elimination (iii) External views on the Future of APOC (iv) Final conclusions and recommendations of the CSA to JAF

CLOSED SESSIONS

11:20-12:30

13. Closed session of the: (i) Ministers of Health of African countries (ii) Donors (iii) NGDOs

12:30-14:00 Lunch Break

13. Closed session (Cont'd) of the: (i) Ministers of Health of African countries (ii) Donors (iii) NGDOs

16:00-16:30 Tea Break

Outcome of the sessions of the

16:30-16:45 (i) Ministers of Health of African countries

16:45-17:00 (ii) Donors

17:00-17:15 (iii) NGDOs

17:15-17:35

Discussions on the outcomes of the closed door session and adoption of the conclusions and decisions on agenda items 12 & 13:

RESEARCH AND DRUG DEVELOPMENT

17:35-17:50 Address by Prof David Molyneux (The role of medical research in

the tropical diseases control, Oncho success

17:50-18:05 14. Health Impact Assessment of APOC Operations

14:30 -14:45 (iii) Presentation by Dr U.V. Amazigo (Role of women in

the success of Oncho Programme)

14:45 -15:00

15:00 -15:20

15:20 -16:00

(iv) Government and NGDOs Financial contributions

Discussions

(v) Statements by the Honorable Ministers of Health –

Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique,

Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania,

Uganda

16:00 - 16:30

(vi) Statements by Honorable Ministers of Health of ex-

OCP countries – Benin Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire,

Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal,

Sierra Leone, Togo

16:30– 17:00 Tea break

17:00 - 17:15 Discussion

11:05 -

18:15

17:15 - 17:25 Conclusions and decisions on the agenda items 5 and 6

17:25 - 17:40 7. Report of the Technical Consultative Committee

(TCC)

17:40 - 17:50 Discussions

17:50 - 17:55 Conclusions and decisions

17:55 - 18:10 8. Status of Onchocerciasis Control in former OCP

countries

18:10 - 18:15 Conclusions and decisions

Programme Day 1 cont’d

20 APOC

participating

countries

20 Donor

countries &

Organizations

Private sector

Research

Organizations

& Institutions

15 Non

Governmental

Development

Organizations

(NGDOs)

144,000 endemic

communities

APOC: Unique global public - private partnership

4

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) represen:ng the State of Kuwait has been

contribu:ng to the financing of onchocerciasis control in Africa since the launching of the first

large-scale programme, the Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP) in 1974 in West Africa.

Founded in 1961 just aKer independence the KFAED set a precedent as the first na:onal ins:tu:on

established by a developing na:on to provide support to others in the developing world. Ini:ally

established to provide assistance to Arab countries the Fund soon extended its ac:vi:es to the rest of

the developing world in 1974.

Onchocerciasis was considered a major cause for the depopula:on and emigra:on

from oncho zones during the 1960’s and 1970’s that led to fer:le valleys being

abandoned. Thanks to the opera:ons and ac:vi:es of the OCP (1974 – 2002) most

of these zones have become oncho-free, and in the mid-1980s immigra:on and

repopula:on started especially as other areas were experiencing droughts. Many

areas experienced very high popula:on growth rates and the need to ensure food

security for these new seFlements became paramount.

In addi:on to contribu:ng to the APOC Trust

Fund, Kuwait Fund, in line with its priority in Africa to assist countries in their efforts to

aFain the UN Millennium Development Goals, par:cularly to eradicate poverty, also

financed /co-financed several irriga:on projects in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and

Senegal with the aim of increasing agricultural produc:on to reinforce food security

and improve the living condi:ons of millions of poor and vulnerable popula:ons in

rural communi:es.

These projects: dam construc:on, irriga:on

and drainage schemes, schools, health

centres, water supply, rural roads, electricity transi:on, reseFlement of rural

popula:on, capacity building, training and research, totaled more than 213

million US$. The projects covered a poten:al area of almost 700, 000 hectares and

have benefited over seven million

people in rural villages and

communi:es.

There has been significant increase in agricultural density, crop area distribu:on and

hectare produc:on as well as fishery and livestock produc:on; jobs have been

created, income sources have increased and diversified. The difference in the lives

of these rural popula:ons has been remarkable - the poverty and famine they once

knew are things of the past, and they can now look forward to a brighter

future.

KUWAIT FUND FOR ARAB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (KFAED) CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT WORK & OVER 35 YEARS OF COMMITMENT TO ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL IN AFRICA

Bakel agricultural development project in Senegal

Bagre Dam – Burkina Faso

Integrated development project in Mali

Abandoned village

Thanks to all the different partners that make up the APOC unique global public-private partnership,

life has returned to normal for millions of people in onchocerciasis endemic villages

and they can now look forward to a brighter future.