Africa CDC - Afrikan Heroes

Global Health Institutions Need Africa

April 28, 2023

John Nkengasong is the Head, Africa Centre for Diseases Control

By AHMED OGWELL OUMA

Public-health policy has adopted an increasingly expansive perspective in recent years, reflecting a growing awareness of the many factors influencing human well-being, including the health of ecosystems and animals, and the need to facilitate global collaboration. By bridging disciplines and transcending borders, we can better address emerging threats and improve health outcomes for all.

Global pandemic preparedness, for example, requires international alignment on how to modify health infrastructure and tailor responses. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), of which I am acting director, has participated in several global discussions on the subject, ensuring that Africa’s interests – and the Global South’s perspective more generally – are represented in venues where they have been historically sidelined. Genuine inclusion of African voices in policy deliberations, especially early in the process, is the only way to establish common positions that do not leave low- and middle-income countries to fend for themselves.

As the public-health arm of the African Union (AU), the Africa CDC collaborates with member states on numerous regional programs. The next step is to increase the continent’s participation in global decision-making, especially when policies have greater implications for places where disease outbreaks and health emergencies are more frequent – like most countries in Africa. Currently, voices from the Global South are rarely heard on the international stage, and African participants at global health forums and conferences are often isolated, or else included further downstream only after decisions have already been made. Thoughtful, deliberate action is therefore required to bring these stakeholders to the table early on.

The Africa CDC and similar organizations must take the lead in conceptualizing and developing new platforms that give voice to the countries most affected by global inequality. In parallel, existing institutions and working groups must consult with African governments in a genuine and serious way.

The ongoing review of the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations is a good example of greater inclusion. Member states of the WHO African Region proposed amendments that reflect their unique needs and advocated for increased collaboration and equity, including a stronger requirement for state parties to deliver health products and technologies to other jurisdictions that need them to fight public-health emergencies. The proposed changes also called for expanded benefit-sharing as a prerequisite for transferring biological material and data, and the establishment of a financial mechanism that provides grants or concessional loans to developing countries, which often lack the funding to prepare for future health crises.

By contrast, suboptimal representation of Africa in the World Bank’s Pandemic Fund represents a missed opportunity. Considering that the Africa CDC directly supports AU member states in responding to health emergencies, we could have played an essential role in this new decision-making body. While the AU is not yet one of the Pandemic Fund’s Implementing Entities, we encourage member states to participate in the Fund’s first call for proposals.

There are signs that institutional change is taking root. The zero draft of the WHO instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, created for the intergovernmental negotiating body, proposes granting single votes to states at the Conference of the Parties. It also recognizes the potential for regional bodies to exercise the full number of their members’ votes (if none of the member states exercises its right). This system would better reflect the majority view of the Global South in the Conference of the Parties, while also acknowledging the coordinating role of regional organizations. The regional representation and co-chairing arrangements envisaged for the instrument’s intergovernmental negotiating body are likewise a step in the right direction. More should be done, however, to normalize equity by using binding language for relevant financing and intellectual-property commitments.

More forceful terms are also important in realizing the 100 Days Mission, which aims to develop and enable access to safe and effective vaccines against new pathogens within 100 days of an epidemic or pandemic threat being identified. The Africa CDC will closely monitor the initiative and related projects, which should guarantee, rather than merely enable, equitable access and distribution. The recent announcement of a vaccine-manufacturing partnership between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and Institut Pasteur de Dakar, for example, should boost domestic drug supplies.

The Africa CDC recognizes that promoting African countries’ influence on global health policy must be combined with efforts to shape priorities and policies on the continent. This includes leading discussions and creating platforms like the Conference on Public Health in Africa. Two areas ripe for partnership and investment are the regional manufacturing of medicines and medical supplies and the implementation of a “One Health” approach – balancing the health of people, animals, and ecosystems – to reduce the threat of zoonotic diseases and prevent future public-health emergencies.

While COVID-19 demonstrated the Africa CDC’s ability to marshal a well-coordinated response, it also revealed that promises and pledges from foreign partners do not always translate into meaningful support. Guided by the New Public Health Order, the Africa CDC’s latest health-security agenda, and the need to correct imbalances and make our public-health systems more self-sufficient, we will continue to amplify voices from the continent and champion partnerships between African institutions and like-minded global actors. We are committed to playing our role in ensuring that Africa is part of an inclusive global health system and is represented at forums that impact global health security. The next serious disease outbreak is just around the corner, and it is up to us to be ready.

Ahmed Ogwell Ouma is Acting Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

‘Travel Pass’ to accelerate AfCFTA implementation

October 28, 2020

One of Africa’s leading telecoms firm,Econet, has called on African governments to embrace the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)’s Trusted Travel Platform to protect local economies and lives as the continent prepares for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by January 2021.

Econet, which developed a mobile app called the ‘Travel Pass’ that is embedded on Africa CDC’s Trusted Travel Platform, says the use of technology is essential in achieving the AfCFTA’s objectives. The continental free trade area presents a major opportunity for African countries to bring 30 million people out of extreme poverty and to raise the incomes of 68 million others, who live on less than US$5.50 per day.

African countries agreed last year to create the world’s largest free trade area measured by the number of countries participating. There are, however, concerns that economies may be ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic if no proper health guidelines are put in place.

This has resulted in the Africa CDC establishing the Trusted Travel Platform, in partnership with Econet and Panabios, to verify public health documentation for travellers at national borders.

“We understand that governments are under pressure to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a way of reviving their economies that are expected to lose between 25 and 30 million jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we are calling for caution as they open their borders,” said Econet.

“Countries should insist that all travellers get digital certificates to prove that they have taken Covid-19 tests from approved laboratories to contain the spread of the pandemic and protect the lives of vulnerable people.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected several economic sectors on the continent since its onset. Trade and supply chains have been disrupted while some sectors such as aviation, tourism and hospitality, have been among those hardest hit by the pandemic, resulting in massive job losses and lost revenue.

With the implementation of AfCFTA, trade facilitation measures that cut red tape and simplify customs procedures are expected to drive US$292 billion of the US$450 billion in potential income gains. Experts say the agreement will also help usher in the kinds of deep reforms necessary to enhance long-term growth in African countries. When fully operational by 2030, AfCFTA is expected to cover a market of 1,2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.5 trillion. Dr John Nkengasong, the director for Africa CDC has, however, called for a balance between the need to boost African economies and protecting lives.

“Considering the socio-economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on member states, we must continue to be proactive in our response and continue to expand and strengthen our partnerships to fight this pandemic effectively,” he said.

The African Union Commission recently launched the ‘saving lives, economies and livelihoods’ campaign that seeks to reduce the spread of infections within and across borders by creating a unified public health corridor for safe travel on the continent. The campaign will facilitate the development of a harmonised strategy to protect borders, travellers, economies, livelihoods and schools in Africa from the risk of increased Covid-19 transmissions as countries re-open their borders and their economies. This comes as several European countries are struggling to stem a resurgence of the virus, that risks overwhelming some healthcare systems. With an average of more than 100 000 new infections per day over the past week, Europe now accounts for about one-third of new cases reported worldwide.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

One by One: Target COVID-19 Campaign to support Africa Launched

May 1, 2020

Dr John Nkengasong, Director, Africa CDC

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Foundation, and the Access Challenge are launching a campaign called One by One: Target COVID-19. The campaign will support efforts by the African Union and its COVID-19 Fund by advocating for increased financing for Africa CDC to raise its capacity for securing essential diagnostics and medical supplies needed for COVID-19 response in Africa.

One by One: Target COVID-19 will collaborate with media houses, celebrity influencers and other stakeholders to disseminate key messages about COVID-19 to different population groups in Africa, aiming to reach every household across the continent.

This Campaign will galvanize action against COVID-19 by drawing attention to the need for widespread testing and social prevention measures across the continent, in support of the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT): Trace, Test and Track and the Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 of the African Union.

“There are four things we must do: scale up testing and isolate infected individuals, protect our healthcare workers, focus on communities to ensure that the community response is strong, and ensure a constant supply chain component. There is a big gap in testing on the continent and PACT is to support countries and increase their ability to test and trace for COVID-19. We see this as a movement and we call on the media, the community, the private sector, and everyone to partner with us,” said Dr John Nkengasong, Director, Africa CDC

“COVID-19 may soon hit Africa with full force. If this happens, we can expect widespread calamity on a scale that dwarfs even the worst of experiences in China, America or Italy. Most national health systems lack sophisticated respiratory machines and intensive care units to care for severe COVID cases. It is therefore imperative for us to get ahead of this virus on the continent. Collectively, we must engage the public, build trust between governments and their constituents, and mobilize financial resources to ensure that essential medical equipment is available,” said Kate Campana, CEO of The Access Challenge.

The campaign will engage popular celebrity artists, athletes, and cultural and business leaders as informed mouthpieces for disseminating accurate public health information; help pan-African leaders to amplify their messages on COVID-19; and engage donors and the private sector to invest in system-wide capacity strengthening in Africa through the African Union COVID-19 response mechanism.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread, it is important to understand the impact it will have on a system that is already burdened by other health challenges across the continent,” said campaign co-founder, H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete. “We have made great progress in the recent past on advancing Universal Health Coverage. There has never been a more critical time than now for countries to take bold and decisive actions to support UHC – not only to protect citizens from COVID-19, but from all other health challenges. We cannot protect people from deadly pandemics, over-burdening NCDs, advance gender equality, or achieve any of the other 2030 Sustainable Development Goals without accelerating progress towards universal health coverage.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry