Global experts call for a radical health policy shift in post COVID-19 Africa
Countries must strengthen and reform their health policy research institutions to focus on Africa-led inclusive solutions
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, July 7, 2020/ --
Global health experts and practitioners at a policy webinar hosted by
the African Development Institute (ADI) called for a “Marshall Plan on
Inclusive Health in Africa.”
There is an urgent need for inclusive health policy in Africa – one that can detect and interpret warning signs and rapidly mobilize to isolate
threats, absorb and adapt to shocks, and organically innovate new
strategies to maintain its core functions, the delegates said.
“There must be a radical shift in Africa’s health policy from one that
focuses on medical outcomes, to one that focuses on the broader concept
of inclusive health – ensuring quality health from conception to end of
life, to all people and all the time,” according to a summary document
on the webinar’s outcomes.
The webinar, the third in a series of the ADI’s Global Community of
Practice (G-CoP), took place 22-23 June 2020 and brought together 565
global experts and 69 panelists from 50 countries.
The ADI hosted the seminar jointly with the World Health Organization
(WHO); the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; the Bank
Group’s Health Department and Health Centre; the African Population and
Health Research Center at Murdoch University, Western Australia; Drexel
University’s School of Public Health, USA; City University of New York
School of Medicine, USA; and the University of Nigeria Faculty of Health Science and Technology.
Among the panelists were former Ministers of Health, Education and
Finance from Africa, the staff of various Prime Ministers’ Offices, a
Minister of Health from Western Australia, specialists from multilateral institutions including the World Bank, heads of health policy research
institutes, teaching hospitals, think-tanks and private sector
representatives.
Webinar participants encouraged the African Development Bank and
partners to build support for the Marshall Plan on Inclusive Health by
engaging the private sector, academia and civil society.
African countries were urged to adopt WHO recommendations on frequent
handwashing, practicing social distancing and wearing masks in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. They
should also scale up testing, contact tracing, isolation and
quarantining COVID-19 patients, as well as restricting movement to
minimize the virus’ spread.
“These basic personal hygiene practices are needed not only for
containing COVID-19 but also for mitigating other communicable diseases
that affect citizens of Africa,” said the summary report of the seminar.
The ADI and partners will synthesize the outcomes of the seminar into a
matrix of Policy Options and a policy brief for governments and other
decision-makers in their response to the pandemic.
“There is no one size fits all policy option. Decision-makers need to
engage with local experts and influencers to articulate clear policy
messages, define incentives, norms or behaviors, and rules for managing
defiance,” it said.
African countries were advised to provide social safety nets and
essential primary health care services, such as access to quality water
and sanitation, food, and basic sanitary services for vulnerable
households.
Africa, delegates observed, is largely absent from the race for vaccines and drug discovery to combat several diseases it faces, and to address
this, lending institutions should prioritize investments in domestic
capacity for the production of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
Critical to doing so is the retention of health professionals in Africa
by reversing ongoing brain drains, delegates stated.
Countries must strengthen and reform their health policy research institutions to focus on Africa-led inclusive solutions.
“Response policies should be guided by science, not politics,” said the report.
The African Development Institute (ADI) (https://bit.ly/3gzYe4w) is the African Development Bank’s focal point for Capacity Development. Its goal is to lead efforts at building sustainable capacity for
development effectiveness in the Bank’s regional member countries.
Click here for the summary outcomes of the seminar.
Play online games for free at games.easybranches.com
Guest Post Services www.easybranches.com/contribute