WONCA Africa brings the voice of family medicine to WHO Regional Committee
WONCA Africa brought the voice of family medicine into regional health policy discussions at the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC76), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 25-28 August 2026.
WONCA Africa President Prof Bob Mash (South Africa) and President-Elect Dr Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng (Ghana) represented WONCA at the meeting, where health ministers and senior officials from across the WHO African Region discussed the future direction of health systems on the continent.
The agenda included district-centred primary health care and community systems, workforce development, health system resilience, digital transformation, sustainable financing and partnerships. Participation in RC76 gave WONCA Africa an opportunity both to contribute directly to formal policy discussions and to strengthen relationships with WHO, national delegations and family medicine colleagues from across the Region.
A workforce equipped for strong primary health care
On 26 August, Prof Mash delivered a statement during Agenda Item 8: Africa Health Workforce Agenda, 2026-2035.
WONCA Africa welcomed the focus on developing a functional health workforce while stressing the contribution family physicians can make as expert generalists within multidisciplinary primary health care teams and primary hospitals. The statement highlighted their role in managing complexity, strengthening clinical teams, improving quality and patient safety, and providing continuity, coordination and comprehensive care. WONCA called for greater support for family medicine training and for graduates to be deployed where their skills can strengthen primary and district-level services.
Read the full statement
Building the evidence for African primary health care
WONCA Africa returned to the floor on 27 August during Agenda Item 18.12: Final progress report on Research for Health: a strategy for the African Region, 2016-2025.
Prof Mash emphasised that high-quality primary health care needs evidence derived from African settings and populations. WONCA called for stronger research capacity in primary health care and family medicine, clearer national research priorities and greater investment in research that can improve clinical care, service delivery, community engagement and district health systems throughout the Region.
Read the full statement
Prioritising noncommunicable diseases and universal health coverage
WONCA Africa also submitted a written statement under Agenda Item 15: A new era of health for Africa, united action for Vision 2035.
The statement urged member states to treat noncommunicable diseases as a central priority for primary health care and the drive towards universal health coverage. It pointed to the rising burden of conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory disease and mental health problems, and called for investment in community-oriented primary care and the health workforce, wider access to essential medicines and equipment, stronger mental health services, and policies that address the social, commercial and environmental determinants of health and ensure equitable access for all.
Read the full statement
Resilient primary health care for emergencies
WONCA Africa submitted a further written statement under Agenda Item 18.8: Progress report on the Framework for sustaining resilient health systems to achieve universal health coverage and promote health security, 2023-2030.
The statement stressed that the frontline of any emergency, whether an infectious disease outbreak or an extreme weather event driven by climate change, is primary health care as much as the hospital. It called for climate change to be built into primary health care policy, for investment in primary care facilities and the workforce to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies, and for primary care providers to be integrated into emergency preparedness and disaster response plans.
Read the full statement
Building relationships across the Region
Formal interventions were only one part of WONCA Africa's engagement in Addis Ababa. Among a range of informal meetings and conversations, Prof Mash and Dr Ayisi-Boateng met local family physicians, including Dr Aziza Abdella, President of the Association of Ethiopian Family Medicine Specialists, Dr Assegid Geleta and Dr Tibebu.
Ethiopia now has more than 100 family physicians on its national register, with training taking place through two programmes. Discussions continue with the Ministry of Health on how family physicians can best contribute to the health system. WONCA Africa also looks forward to strengthening its relationship with the Ethiopian association and hopes to welcome it into the WONCA family.
The engagement at RC76 reflects a wider priority for WONCA Africa: ensuring that family medicine has a clear voice in decisions about primary health care, workforce development, research and universal health coverage across the continent.
Visit the RC76 website
Next stop: Gaborone
The regional conversation continues this month when family doctors and primary health care colleagues gather in Gaborone, Botswana, for the 9th WONCA Africa Region Conference, 10-11 September 2026. The conference will provide another opportunity to connect the policy discussions taking place at regional level with the work of family physicians, educators, researchers and primary health care teams across Africa.
Join us in Gaborone
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