The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has been chosen to represent regional health organizations in a global process aimed at reshaping the world’s health architecture, the agency said on Monday.
The announcement was made on Aug. 31 in Addis Ababa, giving Africa a seat on the Joint Task Force on Global Health Architecture Reform, which is expected to develop recommendations for consideration by the 80th World Health Assembly.
The World Health Organization invited Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya to join the task force as the representative of regional health organizations after several bodies were considered for the position.
Kaseya said Africa CDC would use the role to bring the priorities of the African Union’s 55 member states into the reform discussions.
“Africa has been clear about the direction global health reform must take,” he said. “We need a system that places countries at the centre, recognizes and strengthens the role of regional institutions, advances greater equity and sustainable financing, and reinforces health security and sovereignty.”
The task force was established following a decision by the 79th World Health Assembly and the UN80 Initiative. Its work will examine how health institutions can operate more effectively across national, regional and global levels.
Its areas of focus include the mandates and capacities of global health institutions, coordination and decision-making, and financing for global health priorities.
Africa CDC said its participation would be guided by African governments through the African High-Level Ministerial Committee on Global Health Architecture Reform, launched in April to help develop common African positions on the reform agenda.
The agency will also consult other regional health organizations to bring their experiences and priorities into the task force’s discussions.
Kaseya will attend the task force’s first full in-person meeting at WHO headquarters in Geneva from Sept. 3 to 4.
Africa CDC has designated Dr Ngashi Ngongo to coordinate its technical engagement, supported by Professor Aliko Baba Ahmed, Special Regional Representative of the Director General for the Western Africa Regional Collaborating Centre, and Dr Alex Coutinho, Program Director for the Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Program, on legal aspects.
The task force is co-chaired by Dr Yong Feng and Björn Kümmel.
Kaseya described the selection as recognition of Africa’s growing role in global health governance, but said it also placed a responsibility on regional institutions to help build a system that better serves countries and communities.
