Fifteen national, continental and international civil society organisations hailed the AU Conference of African Health Ministers meeting in Johannesburg South Africa for adopting the Africa Health Strategy: 2007-2015. Meeting on the margins of the Conference, the CSO groups commended the ministers for their commitment to a vision of a “prosperous Africa free of its heavy burden of disease, disability and premature death” and to the goal of ensuring “access to essential health care for all Africans, especially the poorest and most marginalized”.