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The European Health Emergency Preparedness Agency (HERA) has committed €6 million to support the African Center for Disease Control (ACDC) to scale up sequence-based disease surveillance and testing capacity on the African continent.
This was said by Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, at the start of a three-day meeting between the African Union and the European Union held in Addis Ababa on Monday to address health and humanitarian issues. Announced.
Belgian Development Cooperation and Metropolitans Minister Caroline Genes said that the Belgian Development Agency had also signed a memorandum of understanding with ACDC aimed at strengthening Africa’s pandemic preparedness.
Belgium holds the EU Presidency, and one of its objectives is to accelerate equal access to health and strengthen the Africa-EU partnership on global health.
To this end, Belgium will host a high-level event on health with the African Union on 20 March.
Dr. Ahmed Ouma, Deputy Director-General of the Africa CDC, welcomed the agreement, stating that the agreement “ [African] the ability of countries to detect and respond to health emergencies; ”
He added that the agreement focuses on three key issues: supporting the role of Africa CDC as the continent’s health implementer, increasing resistance to antibiotics, and improving the continent’s One Health capacity. It is a construction. This is especially important on continents where zoonotic diseases are endemic.
“When it comes to health, there are no continents or borders,” Kyriakides said.
He added that Africa was a “key priority” for the EU.
Genes said the pandemic agreement negotiations at the World Health Organization (WHO) demonstrated the recognition that “all great challenges are global.”
“Team Europe supports the decentralization of vaccine and medicine production,” Genes added.
Meanwhile, Minata Samate Sessoma, African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, said the meeting would also discuss cooperation on humanitarian needs in Africa, particularly in the Horn of Africa.
“Climate change is starting to displace more people than conflict,” Sessoma noted.
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