At an AU PSC meeting on « Health security and the promotion of peace and security in Africa », chaired by the Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi, the Moroccan delegation stressed that health security and the promotion of peace and security are deeply interconnected, and recalled that conflict and instability can exacerbate public health problems.
In this respect, the Moroccan delegation called for a unified continental approach to pandemic preparedness, strengthening and restoring health systems in Africa, within the framework of an AU Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PRP) policy, and strong African health diplomacy.
The Moroccan delegation urged the AU Commission and international partners to make greater efforts to improve health systems in Africa, and to promote vaccine research and development, through the creation of African regional research centers to strengthen disease surveillance and response capacities, with a view to preparing for potential pandemic shocks.
It also stressed the need to institutionalize the link between peace and health security, by scheduling, at least once a year, a PSC-CDC Africa meeting to take stock of the interconnection between the continent’s security and health situation, as well as accelerating the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency.
