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Roundup: AU calls for efforts to enhance Africa's health sector resilience

Xinhua, July 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

African countries should step up efforts to mobilize resources and increase investments to enhance the resilience of the health sector, senior African Union (AU) officials said Tuesday.

"We need to accelerate our investments in building resilient communities and well-performing heath systems that integrate public and primary heath care," said Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe president and AU Chairman, at the ongoing International Conference on Africa's Fight against Ebola.

"We need to develop systems, capacities, and financing mechanisms needed to build capacity for responding to future outbreaks and humanitarian emergencies," he said, noting that the ultimate goal of a post-Ebola recovery strategy should ensure a quick return to a healthy populace.

As of July 14, total Ebola cases reached 27,679, with reported deaths standing at 11,276. And most of the deaths occurred in areas with inadequate life-saving health services, according to the AU.

AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Erastus Mwencha, said the fragility of health systems and lack of epidemic response mechanism have been blamed for the largest Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

"This is a common feature of the health system in Africa. We have a huge burden of preventable and treatable health problems where millions suffer, and in some cases, die from diseases and conditions that are relatively simple to prevent or treat," said Mwencha.

According to him, while Africa has 13 percent the world population, it bears 25 percent of the global disease burden, and has only 3% of the global health work force.

Mwencha therefore urged that investments in human resources, early warning systems and health care systems should be priority areas for enhancing resilience of the health sector in the continent.

He also called for concrete support for the full establishment and operationalization of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), so as to ensure greater preparedness and resilience in tackling similar epidemics on the continent.

A pan-African health agency, the Africa CDC will work as a specialized technical institution to promote the prevention and control of diseases in Africa.

The ministerial meeting of the AU Ebola conference Monday adopted the Statute of the Africa CDC, and urged the fast-tracking of the establishment of the institution.

The two-day conference kicked off Monday in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea.

Under the theme of "Africa helping Africans in the Ebola Recovery and Reconstruction," the conference provides a platform for participants to share experiences in Africa's fight against Ebola and discuss post-epidemic recovery and reconstruction for Ebola-affected countries. Endit