Africa CDC Launches Ministerial Committee to Reform Global Health Governance
Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a high-level ministerial committee aimed at strengthening Africa’s influence in global health decision-making.
The initiative, unveiled in Nairobi during the World Health Summit Regional Meeting, brings together ministers of health and finance to coordinate Africa’s position on global health reforms.
Director-General Jean Kaseya said the move marks a shift towards greater continental ownership of health policy and financing.
“Africa cannot remain a passive recipient of global health decisions,” he said. “This is about power, voice and ownership.”
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said the continent must speak with one voice to address disparities in global health governance.
Former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who chairs the committee, described the initiative as critical to ensuring equitable access to vaccines, financing, and healthcare systems.
The committee will focus on governance reform, digital health systems, pandemic preparedness, and local manufacturing, with plans to produce a continental roadmap for 2026–2030.
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Korede Abdullah 
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