By Monica Kayombo, LUSAKA Zambia
The African Union (AU) has called for new strategies to enable countries on the continent to effectively guard against future health crises.
AU
Commission chairperson Moussa Mahamat says the continent has not been spared
from devastating effects of the novel virus, which has pushed health systems to
the limit.
Mahamat
said this during the close of a three-day workshop aimed at finding solutions
to long-standing health challenges in Africa, including vaccine inequity and
weak health systems.
The
event was hosted by the AU and Africa Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention (Africa CDC), This is contained in a statement by the Global Health
Strategies media team.
Mahamat
said there is need to build a new public health order that can effectively
guard against future health crises. “We have great hopes for the future and a
historic opportunity to build a new public health order that can effectively
guard against future health crises.
This
conference is the first step in making this a reality,” Mahamat said. AU’s new
public health order calls for continental collaboration to bolster African
manufacturing capacity for vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics; strengthen
public health institutions for people-centred care; expand the public health
workforce; establish respectful and action-oriented partnerships; and engage
with the private sector.
The
pillars are part of the continent’s approach to meeting the aspirations of the agenda
2063 – the Africa We Want.
AU
champion for domestic health financing Paul Kagame said there is need for
renewed commitments by governments and national parliaments to increase
domestic financing for health in Africa, a priority of the AU.
“We
need to invest much more in national health systems. The ability to implement
critical health programmes, including regular mass vaccination campaigns,
depends on the quality of national health services and the trust the public
have in them,” Kagame, the Rwandan President, said.
Centre
for AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) director Salim Karim,
who is among people leading research on the Omicron, explained the variant’s
trajectory in South Africa.
Professor
Karim emphasised the need to continue trusting and implementing strong public
health interventions.
Some
scientists were honoured for their contributions to the field of science.
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