The Africa CDC Director-General, Jean Kaseya, has called for greater African ownership of health security through stronger domestic financing, faster emergency funding and local production of essential health products.

Ms Kaseya made the call during a conversation with the Managing Editor of Semafor Africa, Alexis Akwagyiram, at Semafor’s “The Next 3 Billion” event on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York.

He said Africa needed to build a health security system that was financed, owned and sustained by African countries, while ensuring that development partners strengthened, rather than substituted African leadership.

“The Ebola outbreak is a stark reminder. We can mobilise resources, but if those resources do not reach the front line quickly enough, lives are put at risk,” he said.

He stated that the continent needed stronger domestic financing, faster access to resources during health emergencies and greater capacity to manufacture vaccines, diagnostics and other essential health products.

According to him, Africa can no longer afford to overlook its significant population, market potential, institutions and technical expertise in building a more resilient health security architecture.

“Africa has a population of 1.5 billion people. We have the market, the institutions and the expertise to build differently,” he said.

Mr Kaseya said the approach was central to the African Health Security and Sovereignty agenda.

According to him, it seeks to promote greater ownership by African countries while ensuring that partners and resources support countries to respond effectively to health threats.

He added that the continent’s experience with disease outbreaks had shown that mobilising resources was only part of the solution, stressing that such resources must reach frontline responders and affected communities quickly.

The Africa CDC chief also emphasised the need to strengthen local and regional production of vaccines, diagnostics and other essential health commodities to reduce Africa’s vulnerability to disruptions in global supply chains.

He said African countries, development partners and institutions needed to work differently to ensure that the continent could build and sustain the capacity required to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies.

He said the African Health Security and Sovereignty agenda was ultimately about countries taking greater responsibility for their health security.

“Partners should support that ownership and ensure that resources reach the people who need them most,” he said.

Mr Kaseya’s remarks came amid renewed attention to Africa’s capacity to respond to outbreaks, following the emergence of Ebola and other infectious disease threats on the continent.

(NAN)