Southern African Development Community Protocol on Health PREAMBLE WE, the Heads of State or Government of: The Republic of Angola The Republic of Botswana The Democratic Republic of Congo The Kingdom of Lesotho The Republic of Malawi The Republic of Mauritius The Republic of Mozambique The Republic of Namibia The Republic of Seychelles The Republic of South Africa The Kingdom of Swaziland The United Republic of Tanzania The Republic of Zambia and The Republic of Zimbabwe CONSIDERING Article 21 and 22 of the Treaty, which respectively provide for areas of co-operation and the conclusion of Protocols in the areas of co-operation; MINDFUL that Member States agreed on a policy framework document adopted by the Council in Grand Baie, Mauritius in September, 1998, which forms the basis for co-operation under this Protocol; AWARE that a healthy population is a prerequisite for sustainable human development and increased productivity in Member States; RECOGNISING that close co-operation in the area of health is essential for the effective control of communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and for addressing common health concerns in the Region; ASPIRING to offer a full range of cost effective and quality integrated health services through regional co-operation; CONVINCED that rendering co-ordinated and comprehensive health services in a concerted manner is a prerequisite for the improved health status of people of the Region in the 21st century and beyond; and DESIROUS of realising the aspirations of regional co-operation and integration in the area of health; HEREBY AGREE as follows: --ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS Definitions In this Protocol, terms and expressions defined in Article 1 of the Treaty shall bear the same meaning unless the context otherwise requires. In this Protocol, unless the context otherwise requires"Adolescence" means the age from ten to nineteen years; "Chronic Diseases" means diseases having a long course; "Director" means the Head of the Health Sector Co-ordinating Unit; "Disability" means any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being; "Expanded response to HIV/AIDS" means the response that goes beyond the Health Sector involving all other sectors as equal partners; "Health Promotion" means the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health; "Health Sector" means the body duly constituted hereunder, as provided for in Articles 1, 9 and 12 of the Treaty; "Health Sector Committee of Ministers" means the Committee of Ministers set forth in Article 4 of this Protocol; "Health Sector Committee of Senior Officials" means the Committee of Officials set forth in Article 4 of this Protocol; 1