African leaders are looking forward to a just and fair pandemic agreement and a high-level ministerial consultation for the intergovernmental negotiating body on the draft of the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Agreement.
The Ministers of Health of African Union Member States met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 27 April, under the facilitation of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to drive this message home.
"We need African opinion and voice to be heard because this is the only way for us to show that we are together," said Dr Jean Kaseya, the Director General of Africa CDC, opening the meeting in Addis Ababa.
All AU members were represented at the meeting for the first time, and eight health ministers participated online.
"We decided to come and strengthen the voice for the continent and the world," Dr Kaseya said.
The pandemic agreement is a potential international agreement currently being negotiated by the 194 member states of the WHO, including the US. It is intended to address some of the weaknesses in capacities and lack of international cooperation during the global response to COVID-19.
Africa CDC is not a negotiator; it provides political, strategic, and technical support to negotiators.
Dr Mekdes Daba, Ethiopia's new Minister of Health who took office in February 2024, said the ministers were meeting at a critical time in the global health governance where a pandemic had paused an administrative vacuum to our collective strengths, driving health experts to unforgivingly reflecting the world's vulnerabilities.
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"As we navigate these challenging times, we must learn from our past experiences and share the future of global health security," Dr Daba said.
Slyvia Masebo, Zambia's health minister, said the health of 'our' people in our respective countries is a core component of economic and social development, and our collective voices today should foster unity around this common purpose of achieving universal health coverage.
"Our voices today should lead to equitable access to pandemic-related health products, increased access to vaccines and diagnostics, ensuring that no one is left behind, tech transfer, local production capabilities, and strengthening of our health systems," Masebo said.
Ministers of health eventually agreed that the current Pandemic Agreement should ensure equity.
In a 27 April communique, the ministers said multilateral pathogen access and benefit sharing system (PABS), which provides legal certainty for both users and providers and ensures improved access to pandemic-related health products, technologies with measures that establish regionally distributed production of pandemic-related health products, and measures that establish regionally distributed production of pandemic-related health products were required.
The ministers also called for the formulation of coherent national and regional strategies for emergency preparedness, response, and health workforce development, including community health workforce. "Let us stand united in our commitment and ensure a fair and comprehensive pandemic agreement for the benefit of all our people and a healthier Africa," said Masebo.
