21 Jul 2015

Minister of Health Ms Dorcas Makgato attended the International Conference on Africa’s fight against Ebola, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea last week.

According to the Ministry’s press release, the conference was organised by the African Union Commission, under the theme, Africa Helping Africans in Ebola Recovery and Reconstruction.

It further states that the conference provided an opportunity for Africa to take action and progress towards achieving robust national health systems that were adequately staffed and financed, that were resilient to shocks and health threats and that were able to reach all people with good quality preventive and curative services.

The release says “by attending these discussions, Botswana will be able to contribute and learn about affiliated approaches for better preparedness to confront and deal with outbreaks of communicable and non-communicable diseases as well as other public health emergencies.”

The conference is set to bring together high level multi-sectoral leadership including heads of State and Government, ministers and Africa’s captains of industries and partners to share experiences in the fight against Ebola, the lessons learnt and commit to assisting the Ebola-affected countries in their recovery and reconstruction efforts as well as the prevention of future public health outbreaks on the continent.

Furthermore, the says in the margins of the just ended World Health Assembly in Geneva, the African Union brought to the attention of the Ministers of Health to endorse some documents on the formation of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and as such the matter is be revisited in the margins of the Malabo Conference.

The Minister is expected to get an opportunity to state Botswana’s concerns and position before the Africa CDC is endorsed, as Botswana’s concerns include the need for a funding mechanism for the Africa CDC in country consultations with stakeholders such as Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and criteria for selection of regional collaborative centers. Ends