In a collaborative effort to bolster health initiatives across Africa, HERA has pledged a significant support of EUR 6 million to the African Union (AU) during a recent Team Europe Ministerial Health Mission to Ethiopia and the AU, taking place from February 5 to 7.
Led by Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, the delegation included the Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez, as well as representatives from the European Commission services (DGs HERA, INTPA and SANTE), and ten EU Member States. The dialogue, building on previous joint efforts initiated at the 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels in 2022, aimed to accelerate equal access to healthcare, strengthen the EU-Africa partnership, and address health challenges in line with the priorities of the EU Global Health strategy and the Team Europe Initiatives delivering on it.
A key highlight of the Mission was the signing of the Joint Africa CDC – European Commission Initiative on Genomic Sequencing, a EUR 6 million agreement between HERA and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for projects to be implemented in partnership with the African Society for Laboratory Medicine and the Africa Public Health Foundation. The Initiative aims to strengthen pathogen surveillance and public health laboratory capacity across the continent.
Sequencing-based surveillance, a method used in public health to monitor and track infectious diseases, is particularly important in identifying specific virus strands such as influenza, Ebola or COVID-19, and track their spread over time across geographical locations. Sequencing genomic material helps in identifying outbreak origins, track virus evolution, detect new variants, and understand transmission patterns, crucial for public health. The data guides public authorities in implementing control measures, developing targeted interventions like vaccines, and assessing their effectiveness, and informs decisions on resource allocation and outbreak control strategies, crucial for mitigating disease impact.
Through this Initiative, a concrete step to effectively combat infectious diseases, the pledge from HERA represents a significant contribution to achieving shared health security goals in Africa.
Other key outcomes of the Mission included a EUR 9 million commitment from the European Commission for 2024-2027, to help boost the overall Africa CDC capacities, and a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Africa CDC and Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency. These agreements, aimed at bolstering fast epidemic detection and response capacities, aim to effectively enhance Africa’s overall health security architecture.
"We all saw with the pandemic how important surveillance is to see what is coming. This can make a real difference to health systems and communities across Africa and can play a crucial role for early detection and the risk of outbreaks globally", Commissioner Kyriakides noted.
The dialogue also addressed humanitarian aid, focusing on the health needs of vulnerable populations affected by crises, especially women and girls. Discussions also highlighted the importance of scaling up support for crises lacking international attention, and the potential establishment of an African Humanitarian Agency. These priorities will be central to the upcoming European Humanitarian Forum in Brussels on March 18-19, 2024. The AU and EU will further continue the discussion on the Africa-EU partnership on Global Health during an upcoming High-Level meeting in Brussels on 20 March 2024.
More information:
- Press release: African Union and European Union expand mutual cooperation for global health
- Press statement by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides during the Team Europe Ministerial Health Mission to the African Union and Ethiopia
- Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union: Team Europe visits Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to strengthen Africa-EU cooperation on health
- La commissaire Kyriakides en Éthiopie avec l'Équipe Europe pour renforcer la collaboration UE-Afrique dans le domaine de la santé
- HERA – International cooperation
- EU Global Health Strategy
- International partnerships
Details
- Publication date
- 20 February 2024
- Author
- Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority