By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The Practice Manager, Africa West and Central of Health Security Program (HeSP) Learning Event, Ms
Rifat Hasan has stated unequivocally that there is a need to focus efforts in four major areas to tackle the inherent health challenges in the Western and Central Africa sub-regions
Hasan said this in his opening remarks at the first day of the Four-Day Program under the Health Security Program for Western and Central Africa (HeSP), the West African Health Organization (WAHO), in collaboration with the World Bank and other global and regional partners, in bringing together technical experts for a Health Security Learning Event from June 17 to 20, 2025 in Abuja.
According to her, one of the four major areas to tackle the danger is scaling up cross-sectoral interventions on human, animal, and environmental health through the One Health approach.
She also said that strengthening cross-border collaboration and the role of regional institutions to create regional public goods to maximize impact; holistically addressing neglected challenges such as AMR, climate change, gender and equity; and ensuring alignment of health security interventions with health system strengthening interventions to ensure the continuity of essential health service delivery during emergencies are the other three.
Speaking further, Hasan said the Four-Day Learning Event is a key milestone in the implementation of the HeSP, a World Bank-supported initiative with funding envelope of USD500 million for West and Central Africa. The Program in aims to increase regional collaboration and national health system capacities to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats.
The HeSP features a Learning Agenda that focuses on the generation of knowledge, best practices and prioritizes peer-to-peer learning. Along with the cross-border characteristics of health security (I.e. epidemiology early warning and data sharing, interventions at point of entry, regional laboratory networks), there is scope for knowledge sharing between countries, and to strengthen regional capacities by capitalizing on country comparative advantages.
Delegates from 10 countries Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Gabon, and Guinea are attending alongside Liberia, Mali, Republic of Congo and host Nigeria.
Also, delegations from the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, comprising technical professionals from the health, agriculture, and environment sectors, will participate in interactive sessions with case-based learning and peer exchanges.
The learning event focuses on priority technical areas, namely (i) One Health approaches addressing human, animal, and environmental health interactions; (ii) Antimicrobial resistance; (iii) Emergency-ready primary healthcare; (iv) Surveillance and early warning systems; (v) Laboratory quality and capacity; and (vi) Health emergency management.
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Participants will be equipped to translate findings from national assessments into actionable workplans. They will also be supported to identify priority investments and implement multisectoral collaboration mechanisms essential to effective emergency response.
The HeSP Learning Event is being facilitated by technical experts from the WAHO, World Bank, World Organization for Animal Health, Resolve to Save Lives, WHO Emergency Hub of Dakar, and Institute Pasteur of Dakar.
Meanwhile, Hasan thanked the government of Nigeria, for their leadership, commitment, and hospitality in hosting what she described as “this flagship event”.
