The 69th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, which will take place in Brazzaville on 19-23 August 2019, is expected to re-elect Dr Matshidiso Moeti as the WHO Africa regional director for a second term.
Born in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg 65 years ago, Dr Moeti is a Botswana national. She has been occupying this strategic post since 2015. She is a physician, public health specialist and medical administrator and the first woman to be elected as a WHO regional director. Dr Moeti will be given the nod to continue her job by health ministers from 47 African countries attending the Brazzaville meeting.
Brazzaville, capital of the oil-rich Republic of Congo, is the headquarters of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa.
The meeting comes at the time when the continent is being shaken by the deadly Ebola virus, which a year ago struck the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo for the tenth time.
The virus has already killed more than 1800 people and recently reached the city of Goma, prompting the Rwandan authorities to close their country’s borders with the DRC as precautionary measures.
However, the WHO said early this week that two drugs that were being tested proved to be effective in treating the Ebola disease. The Ebola issue, alongside other health matters affecting the continent, are expected to be discussed at the Brazzaville meeting.
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