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PORTO NOVO, Benin, January 5, 2024 At the end of the contact visit by the President of the Health Sector Regulatory Authority (ARS), Dr Lucien Dossou-Gbété, to the Acting Resident Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Jean Kouamé Konan, on Wednesday October 18, 2023, the two personalities announced their intention to undertake the construction of a consolidated partnership model between their two Institutions. On Friday December 29, 2023, a decisive step was taken in this direction. The visit took the form of a working session.
On the morning of Friday December 29, 2023, WHO Country Representative Dr. Jean Kouamé Konan, accompanied by Dr. Al Fattah Onifadé, paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Health Sector Regulatory Authority. Announced as a courtesy visit, this initiative, which follows on from the ARS’s approach of October 18, is part of the plan to consolidate the partnership between the WHO and the Regulatory Authority.
The visit began with a tête-à-tête where the two authorities exchanged pleasantries. This was followed by a working session attended by members and resource persons of the ARS College, as well as ARS executives.
In his introductory remarks, the President of the ARS expressed his satisfaction with the dimension that the partnership between the two structures is taking on, before pointing out that the ARS, which is the expression of a political will at the highest level that never wavers, has no right to make mistakes.
In this respect, Dr Lucien Dossou-Gbété postulates the need for support for his Institution. After congratulating the Regulatory Authority on its excellent work, the WHO’s interim Resident Representative took a more pragmatic approach: “How can we continue to work with the ARS, as the Regulatory Authority?
The areas in which the ARS expects support from 2024 onwards are clearly defined and shared with the Country Representation.
ARS expectations
The areas in which the ARS expects support from 2024 onwards are clearly defined and shared with the Country Representation. In fact, they were at the heart of the discussions during this working session.
All the major actions that will occupy the ARS in 2024 were reviewed.
These include: continuous improvement in the quality of care, preparation of the annual report on the state of the health sector, preparation of the national health map, the framework for the development of digital health, in particular the mechanisms for its regulation, and the implementation of compulsory health insurance. The major issue of qualified human resources in healthcare was not forgotten.
Confirmed support from the WHO
The WHO unequivocally reiterated its willingness to support the ARS in its mission. With regard to quality and safety of care, Dr Jean Kouamé Konan invited the ARS to draw inspiration from the advances made in the private health sector, which should be safeguarded as achievements. Apart from the suggestions, there were also contributions, notably the promise to transmit to the Regulatory Authority the model annual report on the state of health for the African Region.
Convinced at the end of the discussions of the quality of the skills brought together within the ARS and of their determination to succeed in the mission entrusted to them, the WHO Country Representative a.i., in turn undertook to mobilize all the Technical and Financial Partners around the Regulatory Authority.
Distributed by APO Group for the Government of the Republic of Benin.
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