Guinea-Bissau has been selected as the pilot country for implementing the ECOWAS Regional Community Health Policy, as the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) begins high-level engagements with government authorities in Bissau.<\/p>\n
WAHO Director General Dr Melchior Athanase Jo\u00ebl C. A\u00efssi began a series of meetings with Guinea-Bissau’s Transitional Government on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, seeking to build political and institutional support for putting the regional policy into practice.<\/p>\n
The meetings brought community health beyond the health sector, with WAHO also engaging the country’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.<\/p>\n
Dr A\u00efssi first met the Minister of Public Health, Commodore Dr Quinhin Nantote, at the Ministry of Public Health.<\/p>\n
The discussions focused on Guinea-Bissau’s priorities in community health and the institutional and technical requirements for implementing the Regional Community Health Policy.<\/p>\n
The WAHO delegation, accompanied by ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea-Bissau Ambassador Ngozi Ukaeje, later met Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Amadu Uri Guiss\u00e9 at the Government House\/Ministry of Agriculture.<\/p>\n
The discussions highlighted the importance of involving different sectors in efforts to advance community health.<\/p>\n
WAHO says the mission is part of efforts to encourage ECOWAS member states to take ownership of the Regional Community Health Policy.<\/p>\n
It also aims to strengthen political commitment and create the conditions needed for effective implementation.<\/p>\n
Guinea-Bissau’s role as the pilot country places the implementation process at the centre of the current engagements.<\/p>\n
The Director General is expected to continue meetings with other authorities of the Transitional Government on 19 August.<\/p>\n
Laboratory support<\/strong><\/p>\n The programme will also include the official handover of laboratory equipment procured by WAHO for Guinea-Bissau’s National Public Health Laboratory.<\/p>\n The handover is scheduled to take place on 19 August.<\/p>\n A workshop on Guinea-Bissau’s commitment to implementing the new Regional Community Health Policy will also officially open in Bissau on the same day.<\/p>\n The workshop will run from 19 to 21 August.<\/p>\n WAHO says the engagements are intended to strengthen institutional dialogue and bring relevant sectors together around implementation of the policy.<\/p>\n For Guinea-Bissau, the immediate task is to translate the regional policy into action as the pilot country.<\/p>\n The outcome of the country’s implementation process will therefore be closely linked to WAHO’s wider effort to advance the Regional Community Health Policy among ECOWAS member states.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Guinea-Bissau has been selected as the pilot country for implementing the ECOWAS Regional Community Health Policy, as the West African…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,7,83],"tags":[150,146],"class_list":["post-46124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-security","category-health","category-science","tag-health-policy","tag-waho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t