DECISION ON THE CONTROL OF ARTERIAL
HYPERTENSION IN AFRICA
We, Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Organization of African Unity meeting in Durban, South Africa on 8th July 2002,
Anxious to ensure the sustainable preservation and protection of health as a basic necessity of the individual, an inalienable right and an international public good,
Recalling the New African Initiative adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001 and later renamed NEPAD which recognizes that poverty eradication, necessary for placing our countries on the path of sustainable growth and development, requires the revitalization of teaching, technical training and health services,
Recognizing that the reduction and eventual elimination of poverty requires bold leadership, building an international partnership and the adoption of policies and strategies aimed at promoting development and strengthening dependable and efficient health systems,
Noting that the objectives set with regard to health promotion need not be solely limited to the control of major communicable diseases, and that non-communicable diseases equally record very high morbidity and mortality rates,
Stressing that the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, especially arterial hypertension, has assumed alarming dimensions with the tendency towards early occurrence and increased severity,
Further stressing that these diseases which are becoming the major cause of morbidity and invalidity, with the attendant consequences of increased human suffering and health loss in Africa call for a preventative public health approach characterized by a determination to act and by resource mobilization,
Bearing In Mind, the Victoria (Canada) Declaration of 28 May 1992 on Cardiovascular Health, as well as the will to promote Cardiovascular Health awareness in the Third Millennium, which emphasizes prevention and calls for inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration,
Considering the conclusions and recommendations of the “First Symposium on the Problem of Arterial Hypertension among Black People” organized in Brussels on 11 December 2000, which stressed the urgent need for concerted and collective action with regard to the control of cardiovascular diseases, not only by way of testing and management, but through preventive measures,
Further Considering the conclusions and recommendations of the Libreville Declaration on the Control of Arterial Hypertension in Africa of 6 November 2001,
REAFFIRM the importance of addressing the problem of Non- Communicable Diseases as one that requires a multi-sectoral approach involving all the sectors concerned, especially with regard to health and development policy, production and marketing of pharmaceutical products and research,
DECIDE that the fight against Arterial Hypertension should feature prominently in the development policies of our respective countries;
REQUEST the Secretary General to ensure that this matter is drawn to the attention of the relevant Specialized Technical Committees, upon the establishment of these committees, in order to ensure the promotion and coordination of research and control activities for arterial hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases..
INVITE the International Community to respond positively to this Declaration by supporting financially and otherwise our efforts to fight against arterial hypertension in Africa.
MANDATE COUNCIL to review each year, the progress made in the implementation of this Declaration with a view to ensuring better control of arterial hypertension in Africa.