President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), focusing on strengthening Africa’s health institutions to tackle disease threats. Museveni made this pledge on October 18, 2024, during a meeting with Africa CDC Director General, Dr. Jean Kaseya, at State House Entebbe.
In the discussions, Museveni highlighted the importance of building local health infrastructure, emphasizing local medicine production, the establishment of laboratory hubs, and strengthening Uganda's community health systems, including the Village Health Teams (VHTs).
Museveni pointed to Uganda's progress in disease prevention, mentioning historical disease outbreaks and the country's current health strategies. “Our focus has always been on prevention rather than cure. We’ve seen our population grow to 46 million because of vaccination efforts,” he said. He also cited the success of immunization campaigns and improved access to safe water, which eliminated diseases like cholera and Guinea worm.
Dr. Kaseya praised Museveni for his role in founding Africa CDC in 2016, stressing the need for African-led solutions to health challenges. He noted that Africa CDC serves 55 countries but faces financial constraints. "We need to rely on ourselves, even if it’s small contributions from each member state," Dr. Kaseya remarked. He added that, under his leadership, Africa CDC had raised $10 million, including $650,000 from Uganda.
Kaseya also called for more autonomy for the Africa CDC, urging collective efforts to reduce dependency on foreign donors. He praised Uganda’s medicine manufacturing sector, noting that drugs like anti-malaria medication, approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), are being produced locally. “Why should we import medicines that we can produce in Africa?” he questioned, underscoring the importance of strengthening Africa’s market for its products.
The need to enhance the community health workforce across the continent was also noted during the meeting. Dr. Kaseya acknowledged Uganda’s success in stopping disease outbreaks, attributing it to a robust grassroots health system that should serve as a model for other African nations.
Both leaders agreed that bolstering Africa's health capabilities, including local medicine manufacturing and self-reliant healthcare systems, is essential to overcoming the continent’s health challenges.
