Baba Aye's

Dear brothers, sisters, friends, colleagues, comrades, I wish to start by expressing my heartfelt appreciation for being with you here today. This would be the first PSI regional network meeting, strictly speaking, that I would be attending since resuming as Health and Social Sector Officer. Before proceeding on what I have been asked to talk on, which essentially is to initiate discussion on the tasks at hand for us together , in the sector, permit me to say that my first impression of sisters and brothers within the sector in this region is one of deep respect and high hopes. Even before my resumption, I had received emails from comrades in all the regions with questions and suggestions. But it was from the Asia Pacific region that I received the most, and these were quite important. From Australian affiliates wanting to know how the working conditions of workers employed in France by the Australian multinational corporation Ramsay Healthcare (to be better prepared for a

Introduction The 2 nd Biennial Conference of the West African Health Sector Unions’ Network (WAHSUN) was held on April 18-20, 2016 at the Benin Royal Hotel, Cotonu, Republique du Benin. Delegates from health sector unions in: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo participated actively in the Conference-in-session. After extensive deliberation on issues of critical concern to the health of the people in West Africa, the health system and the conditions of the health workforce in the sub-region, the Conference-in-session resolved thus:    Resolutions: Combating Communicable Diseases; Conference-in-session observed the severe challenges that have been faced with the outbreak of such communicable diseases as: Ebola Virus Disease; Meningitis; Cholera &; Lassa Fever, in several countries within the region over the past two years. The spread of these diseases, it noted is attributed to weak health systems and