…as World Bank expresses concerns over persistent gaps in health security

By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

A delegation from ten African countries and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa,comprising technical professionals from the health, agriculture, and environment sectors, Tuesday, began a four-day health security programme in Abuja with a view to strengthening response mechanisms in West and Central Africa.

Given the Ebola and the COVID-19 cases that caught the region with little or no preparedness measures,the delegates at the event will be focusing on prevention,preparedness, response and resilience to publish health emergencies.

This came as the World Bank said that persistent gaps in health security remain in the region,advising that “ bigger and better investments are still needed to protect the health and livelihoods of people in the region.”

The programme which was convened by the West African  Health Organisation,WAHO, in collaboration with the World Bank and other global and regional partners,brought together technical experts for a health security learning.

 The learning event is a key milestone in the implementation of the Health Security Programme for Western and Central Africa, HeSP, a World Bank- supported initiative with a funding envelope of $500 million.

The programme aims to increase regional collaboration and national health system capacities to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats.

Speaking during the opening session, Tuesday,  the World Bank Practice Manager,Dr. Rifat Hasan, described the occasion as a manifestation of commitment to building a strong coalition towards better health and security in the region.

She noted that over ten years, Western and Central African countries have been partnering with the World Bank to strengthen their essential capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health threats and emergencies.

“In the aftermath of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the World Bank, through the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Project, or RDSP, was among the first to provide financing for disease surveillance and emergency response for human and animal health crises.

“While there has been a great deal of progress that has been achieved over this time period, persistent gaps in health security remain, and bigger and better investments are still needed to protect the health and livelihoods of people in the region.

“We also acknowledge that the new threats and vulnerabilities related to rapidly increasing globalization, deforestation, climate change, and pandemics are present. Therefore, it is incredibly important to focus and continue our efforts in four major areas,”she said.

The four areas,according to her,are: Scaling up cross-sectoral interventions on human, animal, and environmental health through the One Health approach;Strengthening cross-border collaboration and the role of regional institutions to create regional public goods in order to maximize our collective impact; Holistically addressing the neglected challenges such as AMR, climate change, gender inequity and ensuring alignment of health security interventions with health systems-oriented interventions to ensure the continuity of essential health service delivery during emergencies.

“With these efforts in mind, and with these priorities in mind, in December of 2023, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a U.S. $500 million program, the Health Security Program in Western and Central Africa, which embodies sustainable and transformational approaches and fosters a common regional agenda.

“This multi-factorial program is based on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic response, while leveraging the institutional and country-specific gains made under the redefined programme.

“To further increase regional leadership and to ensure sustainable implementation of investments, the Health Security Program features a learning agenda that prioritizes peer-to-peer learning and experience exchange.

“The Health Security Program learning agenda seeks to leverage existing institutions and platforms for cross-country learning and information sharing, ensuring that regional and country-specific interventions become public goods for the entire region,”she said.

Noting that the  participation of delegates in the flagship event was a significant milestone,Dr, Rifat Hasan said the “ next three days promise a dynamic learning experience through interactive sessions, case-based learning, peer-to-peer exchange, and participatory exercises, in strengthening our collective understanding of priority technical areas such as One Health, AMR, surveillance, laboratory quality and capacity, health emergency management, and emergency-ready primary health care.”

On his part, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate,represented by the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris, thanked the delegates for their unwavering commitment to building a safer and healthier region.

He reaffirmed that health security is not only a national priority, but also a regional priority.

“Across our region, we face complex interconnected threats, outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging diseases, increasing antimicrobial resistance, and accelerated impact of climate change and health. These are challenges no country or centre can overcome alone,’he said.

Speaking further, he said:”In Nigeria, we are currently responding to multiple outbreaks involving lassa fever, cerebral spinal meningitis, mpox, cholera, and other emerging public health diseases, including monitoring. “

Reflecting on the cases of COVID-19, Ebola, and the other diseases that hit Nigeria in the past, the minister acknowledged the importance of the learning event.

‘It offers us more than a meeting. It provides us a platform to strengthen our technical knowledge, particularly in critical areas such as the One Health approach, AMR containment, and emergency-ready primary and secondary health care. It also opens a space for regional coordination and gives us the opportunity to foster a kind of cross-sectoral collaboration that genuine preparedness requires.

“Over the next few days, we will not only share concrete experiences, but also draw on peer learning, adapt solutions to our unique contexts, and build the relationships that turn ideas into sustainable action.

“Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that the insights gained here directly inform the way we design, implement, and institutionalize our national and regional health security programmes,”he said.