Ghana has called for stronger cross-border disease surveillance and regional cooperation as West African countries seek to improve their collective response to emerging public health threats.
The call was made at the opening of a two-day meeting of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee (ReTAC) of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Western Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC) in Ghana.
The meeting brings together technical experts from the 15 West African member states, regional economic communities, health partners, Africa CDC headquarters and the Western Africa RCC Secretariat to review health security priorities and develop recommendations for strengthening regional preparedness.
Opening the meeting, the Minister of Health and Chairman of the Africa CDC Western Africa Regional Steering Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said recent outbreaks had exposed the need for African countries to coordinate their preparedness and response systems.
He cited the COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola outbreaks, as well as emerging threats including mpox, Marburg disease and antimicrobial resistance, as evidence that public health emergencies can quickly transcend national borders.
“Public health threats do not respect national borders,” he said, stressing the need for stronger cross-border surveillance, timely information sharing, resilient medical supply chains and a well-trained public health workforce.
Mr Akandoh said Ghana remained committed to strengthening its disease surveillance and laboratory systems, genomic sequencing and emergency preparedness as part of efforts to build a more resilient health security architecture.
He also highlighted the importance of local production of essential medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, describing it as critical to advancing Africa’s health sovereignty and reducing dependence on external supplies during emergencies.
The minister urged the technical committee to move beyond discussions and provide practical, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen the Western Africa RCC and improve the region’s ability to detect and respond rapidly to future health emergencies.
The meeting is expected to serve as a platform for experts and partners to share technical knowledge, assess regional preparedness and identify practical measures for improving coordinated responses to disease outbreaks.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts by the Africa CDC and its regional partners to build stronger, more coordinated health security systems across Africa.
Source: Source: www.kumasimail.com
