Africa must take ownership of its health security – Dr Nkengasong

A renowned public health expert says it is unacceptable for Africa to continuously rely on its foreign allies in providing the health needs of its population.

Dr John Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, expressed worry that although the continent consumed 25 per cent of the world’s vaccines, it manufactured only one per cent of the global production.

“We import 99 per cent of our vaccines, which means we manufacture only 1 per cent. You cannot consume 25 per cent of global vaccines and produce only 1 per cent. It is not acceptable and cannot guarantee the health security of the 1.3 billion people on the continent,” he said.

Dr Nkengasong made the remarks when he delivered the 2022 Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lectures at the University of Ghana (UG) at Legon on Friday, March 18, 2022.

Under the auspices of the UG, the lecture was instituted in 1957 to commemorate the contributions of three persons – James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, Alexander G. Fraser, and Gordon Guggisberg – in the advancement of higher education in Ghana.

Dr Nkengasong commended efforts undertaken by African governments to establish their own vaccine manufacturing institutes geared towards boosting the continent’s preparedness for future pandemics.

He said given the rate at which Africa’s population kept increasing, the continent must endeavour to produce at least 60 per cent of the vaccines it consumed by 2040.

“As a continent of 1.3 billion people, we cannot mortgage our health security to the goodwill of our friends and allies.

“We should take ownership of the health autonomy and sovereignty of Africa by investing in the health security commodities so that we have health security for the continent,” he said.

Africa detected its first COVID-19 case of the deadly coronavirus in Egypt on February 14, 2022.

So far, there have been at least 11,588,000 reported infections and 251,000 reported deaths caused by the novel coronavirus in Africa, the Reuters Coronavirus Tracker indicates.

Dr Nkengasong said the continent must embrace a new Public Health Order by engaging and strengthening its public health institutions as well as building the capacities of its workforce to be able to lead innovative solutions.

He also rallied support for the African Medicines Agency, a new organisation set up by the AU to, among other functions set standards and approve vaccines produced on the continent.

“Africa to the best of my recollection is the only part of the world that still relies on somebody else to tell him which product to use,” he said.

Dr Nkengasong added that: “We don’t want our innovations to be reactionary initiatives that happened just because of COVID. The systems we have built should tackle the current endemic diseases i.e. malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.”

As part of the 2022 Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Memorial Lectures, the UG conferred an honorary Dr of Science Degree on Dr Nkengasong.

The honour, according to the University’s Council, was in recognition of his immense contribution to healthcare across the globe.