By Chris Kwaja (Ph.D)
At the ongoing 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Vice President Kashim Shettima of Nigeria, presented Nigeria’s position on building Africa’s health security and sovereignty. In his words, “Nigeria’s stand is for a continental shift towards health security and sovereignty in Africa, particularly one that is aimed at moving the continent from reliance on foreign aid to self-sufficient, homegrown health systems”.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been the champion of the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty Initiative, which represents a continent-wide strategy aimed at strengthening Africa’s ability to protect its populations from disease threats, reduce dependence on external systems and aid, and build durable, autonomous health systems. Officially, the initiative is christened “The Africa Health Security and Sovereignty (AHSS) Agenda” — a strategic framework for advancing health security, resilience, and self-reliance across African Union (AU) member States.
Why the AHSS matter for the continent? Far beyond any other continent, Africa experiences heavier burdens from infectious disease and outbreaks. In addition to weak institutions reliance on external financing, manufactured and medical supplies, corruption has been a major obstacle to governance and health systems financing.
The actualization of the vision of the AHSS would be dependent on the extent to which Nigeria and other member states of the African Union (AU), commit themselves to: deliberately invest in sustainable and qualitative primary health care services for its population; strengthening governance and coordination for outbreak management across the continent; boost national funding and diversified financing mechanisms on health care provision; advocate for a reform of the global health care system to guarantee equity in global health related decision-making; invest in digital transformation of the continent’s health system through dedicated African-led data systems and technology platforms under sovereign control. Africa cannot afford to leave anyone behind, in this quest for a continental health security.
