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.

“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.

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b. Commitments to organize and resource technical support on the range of matters covered by the draft agreement, including all equity-related provisions, as well as pandemic prevention and public health surveillance, preparedness, readiness, and resilience, and health and care workforce through WHO coordinated mechanisms that are accountable to the Conference of Parties.

c. Appropriate safeguards and limitations that should be placed on the use and sharing of data and information provided by State Parties to WHO, such that the information shared should not be used to the detriment of the interests of the State Parties providing the information such as disproportionate travel or trade bans, devaluation of credit rating and/or sovereign bonds.

2. PANDEMIC PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (PPPR)
a. Formulate coherent national and regional strategies for emergency preparedness and response and health workforce development, including community health workforce.

b. Enact domestic laws providing for broad exemptions and limitations to intellectual property to address public health emergencies.

c. Increase supply chain diversification and logistics streamlining (continental, regional and national), including through initiatives with other Global South countries.

d. Make incremental steps, in line with respective capacities and nationally self-determined priorities, on PPPR competencies.

e. Operationalize various WHO coordinated mechanisms such as on coordinating R&D and technology transfer, in a manner that such mechanisms are accountable to the Conference of Parties and take guidance from the Conference of Parties in their operations.

3. PREDICTABLE, SUSTAINABLE FINANCING AND GOVERNANCE
a. Call for an International financing mechanism that is accountable to the Conference of Parties and enshrining explicit commitments to new, sustainable, and increased funding support from developed countries for country-level pandemic prevention, preparedness and response in developing countries, debt relief and debt restructuring mechanisms including debt for PPPR swaps.

b. Accelerate the operationalisation of the financing of the African Epidemic Fund.

AFRICA STANDS READY TO PLAY ITS PART AND COMMITS TO ENGAGE ACTIVELY IN THE ONGOING NEGOTIATIONS AND FINALISATION OF THE DRAFT PANDEMIC AGREEMENT.

Addis Ababa, 27 April 2024

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