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The East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) has called for enhanced regional harmonisation to strengthen cross-border preparedness, joint surveillance, mutual recognition of protocols and coordinated simulation exercises to better manage emerging health emergencies.
Dr. Ntuli Kapologwe, Director General of ECSA-HC, said there was also an urgent need to accelerate digital health interoperability and data governance to ensure information flows quickly, securely and consistently across countries.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting hosted by Zambia’s Ministry of Health under the Health Emergency Preparedness, Response and Resilience Multi-Phase Programmatic Approach (HEPRR-MPA) in Lusaka.
Kapologwe underscored the need for African countries to strengthen performance and accountability through realistic milestones, improved reporting, and stronger linkages between financing and implementation.
“We also need to build institutional capacity and sustainable financing mechanisms to support long-term readiness and the transition into future phases of the MPA,” he emphasized.
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He noted that the region faced a complex landscape of public health risks, including emerging and re-emerging infections, recurring cholera outbreaks, Mpox, Ebola and Marburg outbreaks, climate-driven health emergencies, and increased cross-border mobility that heightens vulnerability.
“These challenges remind African countries that health security was not a national issue but a regional one,” he said.
“Our systems must therefore be strong, interoperable, and coordinated across borders. The HEPRR-MPA was designed precisely to strengthen these capacities through an integrated, multisectoral, and regional approach,” he added.
Kapologwe highlighted that the Regional Advisory Committee plays a central role by providing strategic direction, promoting policy alignment, and ensuring that country-level implementation aligns with regional priorities, the International Health Regulations (2005), JEE 3.0, SPAR reporting, and frameworks set by Africa CDC and WHO.
Similarly, Zambia’s Health Minister, Dr. Elijah Muchima, said the government had strengthened platforms for zoonotic disease surveillance and early detection, climate-induced health shocks, and cross-border health collaboration with neighbouring countries.
He noted that the integration of One Health principles into national preparedness plans reflected Zambia’s conviction that regional health security begins with national readiness.
“Zambia has benefited from the World Bank’s investment under HEPRR and from the technical guidance of ECSA-HC and IGAD. Through these partnerships, we are reinforcing our national capacities in emergency preparedness, institutional coordination, and workforce training,” Muchima said.
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