The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has convened a three-day regional workshop in Cotonou, Benin Republic, to advance maternal and child health initiatives and accelerate progress towards achieving zero preventable maternal deaths across the continent.
Organised in partnership with the African Union Commission, member states and development partners, the workshop has brought together government officials and health experts from West, Central and North Africa to validate findings from the first continental assessment of policies, financing mechanisms, governance and service delivery related to sexual, reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH).
The assessment findings are expected to contribute to a continental report that will guide public policy, strengthen government accountability and support efforts to reduce preventable maternal and neonatal deaths in Africa.
Representing the Director-General of Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya, the organisation’s Regional Director for West Africa, Dr. Alinon Kokou, said strengthening reproductive, maternal and child health remained critical to achieving Africa’s health sovereignty.
He urged member states to translate available data into concrete decisions, investments and measurable outcomes that benefit women, children and adolescents across the continent.
The initiative forms part of the African Health Security and Sovereignty Agenda (AHSS) and supports a programme championed by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in her capacity as the African Union Champion for Maternal and Child Health.
The programme is anchored on three key objectives: eliminating preventable maternal deaths, ending preventable neonatal deaths and ensuring that every child is vaccinated.
Also speaking, the Head of Africa CDC’s SRMNCAH Division, Dr. Diana Nambatya Nsubuga, emphasised the need for stronger domestic financing and resilient health systems amid declining external aid, rising debt burdens and the effects of climate change.
She noted that strengthening primary healthcare, accelerating digital transformation in health services and expanding local production of medicines, vaccines and diagnostic tools would be critical to improving health outcomes across Africa.
According to Africa CDC, 53 of the African Union’s 55 member states participated in the continental assessment, which it described as one of the most comprehensive evaluations ever conducted on reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health on the continent.
At the end of the workshop, participants are expected to adopt a reference report that will serve as a framework for national reforms, resource mobilisation and monitoring of continental commitments aimed at improving maternal and child health.
AP
