African countries have stepped up efforts to strengthen preparedness and coordination in responding to health emergencies that cross national borders.
The commitment was highlighted during a high-level meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where African health stakeholders signed a Cross-Border Collaboration Memorandum of Understanding and launched the Mpox Vaccine Stockpile Mechanism.
Kenya was represented at the meeting by Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa.
The discussions, led by WHO Regional Director for Africa Prof. Mohamed Janabi, brought together health officials, regional institutions and development partners to develop a more coordinated approach to preparing for and responding to health threats across the continent.
Muthoni reaffirmed Kenya’s willingness to work closely with neighbouring and other African countries to strengthen disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
“Health emergencies do not respect national boundaries, and our response must therefore be equally coordinated across borders,” Muthoni said.
She said stronger collaboration among African nations would be critical in preventing outbreaks from spreading and ensuring that affected populations receive timely assistance.
The Cross-Border Collaboration MoU is expected to improve the sharing of health information between countries while promoting common approaches to emergency preparedness and response.
The newly launched Mpox Vaccine Stockpile Mechanism, meanwhile, is aimed at improving access to vaccines and other essential medical countermeasures when outbreaks occur.
Health leaders said the two initiatives would help African countries respond more rapidly to emerging threats while promoting fairer access to critical health supplies.
“Stronger regional cooperation will allow countries to detect threats earlier, coordinate their response and ensure that essential medical countermeasures reach those who need them,” officials said.
The initiatives are part of broader continental efforts to build resilient health systems capable of responding effectively to outbreaks, epidemics and other public health emergencies.
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