Jean Kaseya, the Director-General of the Africa-Centres for Diseases Control, said on Monday that the continent of Africa should take leadership of and make improvements to its public health system.
Kaseya said this at a press briefing ahead of the official opening of the 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA) holding in Lusaka, Zambia.
He said the region must improve its public health system to halt its vulnerability to disease outbreaks.
The conference is themed: “Breaking Barriers: Repositioning Africa in the Global Health Architecture”.
“We believe we have the ambition to position not only Africa but Africans in the global health space.”
Kaseya said it is time for the world to hear from Africans and acknowledge the presence of African leaders.
He noted that African leaders have the power and capacity to bring everyone together, saying the continent is contributing to global health security.
“Today, we are celebrating a great moment where Africa is hosting the world to discuss ways we can break the barriers. We have to acknowledge what Africa is bringing to the world and what it is giving to the world,” he said.
During the briefing, Margaret Gyapong, the co-chair of CPHIA 2023 and director of the Institute of Health Research, said Africa is experiencing an unparalleled surge in advancements in health technology.
Gyapong said this innovation includes mobile health applications that provide remote consultations, to tech medicine platforms connecting patients with specialised care as she explained that technology is bridging the healthcare access and delivery gap in Africa.
The Minister of Health, Zambia, Sylvia Masebo, said the president of Zambia’s commitment to the health strategic agenda perfectly aligns with the Africa CDC’s mission to public health institutions to detect and respond effectively to disease threats in the region.
Masebo, who also doubles as the chairperson of the Africa CDC governing board, said she is optimistic that the conference will positively impact the region.
Additionally, she calls on allies and the media to back “this great course of repositioning Africa in the global health architecture.”
