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Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 1999;282:1322.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged to focus attention on improved use of scarce resources in combating Africa's considerable health problems.

"In order to make a difference to global health, WHO must make a difference in Africa," Gro Harlem Brundtland, MD, MPH, told health ministers and others during a WHO regional committee meeting that concluded last month in Namibia.

Brundtland said WHO's "unshakable" commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS in Africa includes efforts to make the blood supply safe and prevent vertical transmission, and trying to make antiretroviral drugs available to as many people as possible. She estimated that in some southern African nations, AIDS has cut life expectancy by as much as 10 to 15 years.

A new coalition aimed at tuberculosis control—the Stop TB Initiative—has a goal of doubling worldwide TB spending within 3 years. In Africa, she noted, the goal is . . . [Full Text of this Article]