Baba Aye's

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 sys...

INTRODUCTION The West African Health Sector Unions’ Network (WAHSUN) occupies a pride of place amongst the five sectoral networks of Public Services International’s affiliates, on the African continent. This is largely because it was the first to be formed. We do feel privileged that the Network has been invited several times by our sister networks and the PSI, to throw some light on the experience of building WAHSUN. This year’s English Speaking (East & West) Africa Sub-Regional Advisory Committee (SUBRAC) meeting provides yet another veritable platform for us to present perspectives on the origins, growth and development of WAHSUN. We shall equally seize that opportunity of looking at where we are and how we got here, to rub minds on what might be the next steps to take in building on the initiative, drawing on earlier discourse in this direction. This is particularly important as the 2 nd Biennial WAHSUN Conference is scheduled to take place in barely two months’...