Investment in healthcare preparing Africa for next pandemic - John Nkengasong

The Head of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, has said that Africa’s ability to respond to future pandemics is dependent on how much investment governments on the continent make in health and education.

He said this during a virtual session on healthcare during the African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings.

Other health and disease experts along with Nkengasong spoke in a knowledge session titled Building Africa’s Healthcare Defense System.

He said, “Ebola was a signal. We can also look at Covid-19 as an indication that something more severe will come if we do not strengthen our health defenses.”

Nkengasong urged four steps in preparation for the next global health emergency.

He propped the development of the workforce, improvement in manufacturing capacity of diagnostics, building capacity in vaccines development and treatment.

The World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, emphasised WHO’s partnership with the AfDB and governments on the continent at the meeting.

According to him, WHO and its partners in COVAX are spearheading equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines globally.

He said, “This important public private partnership is an important step to building the infrastructure and human resource capacity to contribute to closing the gap in access to vaccines on the continent.

“I see the African Development Bank playing a critical role on this journey alongside the African Union and the Africa CDC.”

He also said WHO was cooperating with a South African consortium including corporations, universities and the Africa CDC to set up a pioneering technology transfer hub for mRNA vaccine technology.

AfDB’s president, Akinwumi Adesina, while speaking on the matter said, “We must give hope to the poor and the vulnerable, by ensuring that every African, regardless of their income level, gets access to quality healthcare, as well as health insurance and social protection.”

Former World Bank president Jim Kim said a holistic approach that would harness community workers and improve infrastructure was crucial to the continent.

He said, “You cannot end extreme poverty if you are neglecting the investments in health and education that are so critical to economic growth. It’s not one thing. It’s the health workers, it’s hospital beds, it’s making sure that you can provide oxygen, and then it’s going to be production capacity for these vaccines, and this all has to happen very quickly.”

He added that the private sector had a role in building Africa’s healthcare defences.