Stakeholder seeks improved governance in health sector

Former President of World Medical Association (WMA), Dr Osahon Enabulele, has called for ethical governance of health systems as a strategy towards promoting global health.

Enabulele made the call as a guest speaker on Ethical Governance and Global Health on Saturday at the Conference of South African Medical Association (SAMA) at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Applauding the association for its leadership in ethical governance of health systems, Enabulele called on leaders of health systems to leverage ethical policy documents of the WMA such as the WMA Declaration of Helsinki, the WMA Declaration of Taipei, the
International Code of Medical Ethics, the WMA Declaration of Berlin on Racism in Medicine, and the WMA Declaration of Oslo on the Social Determinants of Health, among others.

WMA’s former president expressed the need for institutionalisation of a culture of ethical governance in the governance of health systems and governance in general. He also called on leaders at all levels to move from mere declarations to expressing greater commitment to ethical governance and its processes.

“Leaders of health systems at all levels must be ethically conscious and selected on the basis of merit, their knowledge of ethical governance principles, and capacity for ethical governance of health systems,” he said.