We cannot continue to rely on external funding for something so important to our future – Kagame

Kagame was speaking on Tuesday 14th December 2021, at the inaugural international Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA 2021), organized by the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

“This has been a priority of the African Union for several years, but progress has not been fast enough. We cannot continue to rely on external funding for something so important to our future,” he said.

The three-day conference has brought together health experts from different backgrounds to discuss how to accelerate progress against COVID-19 and chart a new path forward for public health on the continent.

As he addressed participants, Kagame also stressed the need to continue building the capabilities and professionalism of continental health bodies.

“Africa CDC has provided clear leadership throughout the pandemic and helped many of African countries to access tests, protective equipment and vaccines,” he said.

In a bid to continue reinforcing Africa’s health systems, the African Medicines Agency (AMA) entered into force in 2019.

It is expected to address challenges in the health sector particularly reinforcing the manufacturing of medicines of African continent to avoid heavy reliance on imports.

The African Union adopted treaties establishing AMA in February 2019.

Signatories to the new African Medicines Agency Treaty have now reached 28 countries – more than half of the African Union’s 55 member states.

Kagame said that ‘it is important to speed up the implementation of AMA, and see more member states ratify its statute’.

Among others, the Head of State stressed the need to invest much more in national health systems highlighting that the ability to implement critical health programs, including regular mass vaccination campaigns, depends on the quality of national health services, and the trust that the public has in them.

He further underscored that countries need to continue working together to implement the Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing.

“Building manufacturing capacity is the only way to ensure that Africa does not remain at the back of queue for life-saving medicines,” Kagame said.

The President also revealed that the uncertainty around the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has proven that much more need to be done. To this end, he called for vigilance, and response with a sense of urgency and purpose ‘both as a continent and together with our partners around the world’.