Some of the most important lessons from the COVID-19 epidemic have been underlined by Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director for Africa for the World Health Organization (WHO).
Moeti spoke during a panel discussion at the Africa Health Agenda International Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, that was conducted by Dr. Ebere Okereke, the President of the Africa Public Health Foundation.
“Resilient Health Systems for Africa: Re-envisioning the Future Today” was the conference’s subject.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, and Dr. Ebere Okereke, CEO of the Africa Public Health Foundation, are pictured from left to right.
“What we have learned from the pandemic is that health is a factor of development, a determinant of national security as well as development,” said Moeti. That is what the COVID-19 epidemic showed us.
“It had such a profound effect on other industries, economies, and security everywhere. This shows us how crucial it is to make investments in our health.
“It can have a negative impact on development, the economy, and education. Health can no longer be viewed as a purely profit-making social industry.
And secondly, we saw with great encouragement that political connections, political leaders, and health outcomes all had a significant impact on each other.
“And we observed it in the actions taken by political leaders to convene the coordinating organisations that provided guidance on how to respond to the pandemic.
“We witnessed the leadership of health ministers emerge out of nowhere, an issue for determinants to reach the highest political decision makers in countries for their action.”
She observed that the fact that nations were engaging not just at the national level but also at the continental level was encouraging and intriguing.
According to Moeti, the political leaders of Africa got together when they realised that their continent was suffering, particularly in terms of having limited access to certain resources.
She continued by saying that they developed a platform that made decisions, took action, kept some champions, and actually changed things.
Finally, when we were preparing for the pandemic response, one of the things we neglected to consider was, What risks were there?
“What we observed was that each nation needed to take care of itself since international goodwill might be at risk.
“As a result, we must consider that in our planning. Yet, I believe that it is more crucial that we take that into account in some of the global discussions taking place around the pandemic.
“Then, regarding the treaty, how nations should collaborate on a worldwide scale.
Hence, I would like to strongly emphasise that equity should advance at all levels, including the national and global levels, across the continent.
Furthermore, she added, “we also observed that it’s critical to get customised techniques that are pertinent for countries.
According to Moeti, there have been several conversations concerning the pandemic, social media, lockdowns in African cities with dense populations, slums, and other topics.
“Yet we observed that certain nations had the guts to utilise parts of the global guidelines for their own safety.
Finally, we came to understand that communities are the centre of everything we do.
One of the bitter lessons of COVID-19 was the necessity for us, as scientists and specialists, to translate what we say so that the general public will comprehend.
“We must communicate science in a way that allows politicians to grasp it, reach out to communities, and make the best decisions possible.
She continued, “We need to be investing in all of these before all of them, so to speak, in peacetime, so that we establish the kind of resilience in our health system.
(NAN)
