Africa-Press – Angola. African Union (AU) Chairperson João Lourenço on Monday in New York, United States of America (USA), urged Africa to adopt a clear and unified political vision to ensure health sovereignty, based on sustainable health financing, local medicine production, as well as readiness to face pandemics.
The President of Angola, who was speaking at the African Union Committee for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meeting of Heads of State and Government, emphasized that floods, droughts, and extreme events, combined with conflicts in regions such as the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes, are displacing millions of people and creating fertile ground for the spread of epidemics.
In the session held on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, João Lourenço stated that “pandemics do not emerge in a vacuum as they thrive in contexts of fragility and instability”.
João Lourenço emphasized that the first priority of African leaders must be to consolidate this organization’s role as a central pillar of continental health security.
According to the Angolan Head of State, the Committee’s responsibility is to ensure that this mandate is supported by political will, strategic autonomy, and adequate funding. He added that Africa CDC must be empowered to act effectively when necessary, particularly in emergency responses.
The continental organization’s Pro Tempore President recalled that, in February of this year, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union approved, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the vision entitled “Rethinking Health Financing in Africa in a New Era”, a document prepared by the Africa CDC and reinforced at the meeting in Accra, Ghana, in August 2025.
According to João Lourenço, this vision “challenges us to break the cyclical dependence on foreign aid, which leaves the continent vulnerable.”
To this end, he highlighted the need to mobilize national resources through innovative mechanisms such as the African Epidemic Fund, the African Joint Procurement Mechanism, and the African Health Financing Strategy initiatives that, according to him, benefit the African people and strengthen the sovereignty of the State.
He emphasized that the African Epidemic Fund is more than a financial instrument; it is a political declaration, representing Africa’s determination to take responsibility for its own emergencies, mobilize its own resources, and demonstrate solidarity in times of crisis.
Contribution from Angola
João Lourenço stated that in this regard, Angola has already contributed USD 5 million to this mechanism in 2025, as has the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in response to the President’s call to African leaders to invest in this fund.
However, Lourenço emphasized that the success of this instrument requires a collective commitment, with each government must contribute not only financially, but also by involving the private sector, the diaspora and philanthropic partners.
Local production of medicines
Another strategic pillar highlighted by the Angolan leader was the need to strengthen Africa’s production capacity for vaccines, medicines, and health technologies in order to reduce vulnerabilities and delays in access in times of crisis.
“Historically, the continent has been heavily dependent on imports, which creates vulnerabilities. By investing in local production capacity, we can not only ensure a constant supply of essential health products, but also create employment opportunities, investment opportunities and economic growth”, he stated.
The Angolan statesman emphasized that this vision underpins the creation of the Platform for the Harmonized Production of Health Products in Africa and the Collective Purchasing Mechanism, initiatives that, integrated with the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), aim to ensure that, by 2040, the continent produces at least 60% of the health products it consumes.
The initiative has already received support from financial institutions such as Afreximbank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), in addition to political support from the African Union Assembly.
To João Lourenço, the achievement of this objective depends on direct and coordinated action by African Heads of State.
“We must include this agenda into national strategies, create incentives for the private sector, and harmonize regulatory frameworks under the leadership of the Africa CDC and the African Medicines Agency,” stressed President João Lourenço, adding that he is convinced that “together we can transform health production into a pillar of Africa’s industrial transformation”.
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