As a major partner for Tobacco Control in the African region, ACBF took part in the African Regional preparatory meeting for the Seventh Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) and the High Level Meeting on the implementation of the WHO-FCTC.
Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death and diseases in the world and the African region is struggling to curb this new epidemic.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is the first international public health treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO. To date, 180 Member States including 43 from the African Region have ratified this treaty. The Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC (COP) is the governing body of the WHO FCTC. It keeps under regular review the implementation of the Convention and takes the decisions necessary to support its effective implementation.
The COP has been holding its regular sessions every two years. The COP7will be held in New Delhi, India from 7-12 November 2016. The WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) usually holds a pre-COP meeting for the Region before the COP meeting itself. This is an opportunity for Member States and especially the Parties to the WHO FCTC to examine progress in the implementation of the Convention in the Region and agree on ways to address the challenges. The agenda of the COP is a key point of discussion.
Most of the 43 African member states attended the Pre-COP meeting between 10-11 October 2016. The opening ceremony was conducted by Algerian Minister of Health.
Immediately after the PRE-COP meeting, WHO-AFRO, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted the regional high-level meeting on implementation of the Convention from 12-13 October. This platform was used to assess the progress made so far in implementing the FCTC. The member states shared their success stories as well as their challenges, and charted a way forward for tobacco control in Africa.
