Investing on strong health systems to enable African countries to face health crises and outbreaks

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union Commission (AUC) organized a high-level panel discussion on impact of Ebola on the African continent on Sunday 29 March 2015. The meeting was held in the side-lines of the 2015 Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Addis Ababa to share information and catalyze support for the recovery of the countries affected by the Ebola virus disease outbreak.

The panel discussion was chaired by the WHO Regional Director for Africa, and participated by the Minister of State for the Economy and Finance of Guinea, the Deputy Minister of Finance and Development Planning of Liberia, and the Ambassador of Sierra Leone in Ethiopia, as well as senior experts from UNECA, AUC, UNDP and the World Bank. 

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been the most severe in the history of the Ebola virus disease with about 10,300 deaths and an estimated 1.6 billion USD loss to the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The three most affected countries are working together to recover from the devastating outbreak, which has not only severely affected the health sector but also other industries. "In an interconnected world we are all vulnerable; we need to support the Ebola-affected countries collectively," Dr Moeti said at the panel discussion highlighting the importance of building robust health systems that can also withstand shocks like Ebola in the future.

The WHO Regional Director acknowledged the commitment and efforts of the African Union, UNECA and the international community to mobilizing funds and human resources to support the most affected three countries. “WHO will continue working with all member states to ensure that we get to zero Ebola cases; that resilient health systems and services are rebuilt in the three most affected countries and outbreak and response capacities are built on our continent in line with the International Health Regulations,” Dr Moeti concluded.

For more information, please contact: Dr Innocent Ntaganira, email: ntaganirai [at] who.int