Several East Africa Region countries’ health ministries and representatives have convened in Mombasa for the inaugural East Africa Region Global Health Security Summit (2025).
Speaking on Tuesday while officially opening the summit, Health Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa said the summit will help East African region governments deal with emerging and re-emerging health threats.
Dr. Barasa said the summit will allow the various health stakeholders in the region to discuss how to strengthen health security.
“What is coming out as critical for us in East Africa, and Africa in general, is that we need to have resilient systems. This includes having universal health coverage that is affordable, accessible, and provides quality care for all, as well as strengthening components of health security,” said CS Barasa.
The summit will also focus on resource mobilization to ensure regional health security.
It will be looking at vaccine manufacturing and strengthening of public health institutions as a means to bumping health security in the region.
According to Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Ag. Deputy Director General and Head, Division of Public Health Institutes and Research, Dr. Raji Tajudeen, the summit is also an opportunity to look at the workforce, where he says there is a gap.
“The summit is also going to provide an opportunity to revisit the agenda around local manufacturing for health security commodities, talking of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics. It is also a way for us to begin to mobilize resources domestically because you cannot talk about health security without health financing,” said Dr. Tajudeen.
His sentiments were backed by World Health Organization Representative in Kenya, Dr. Diallo Abdourahmane who said: “We all know the environment we are in so it is critical to strategically think of ways of mobilizing and securing resources to make sure the health challenges are addressed.”
The discussions also centered on the role of the private sector in supporting public health agencies, particularly during emergencies, and the importance of regulatory and policy alignment to improve emergency preparedness.
Cynthia Kropac is the Chief Enterprise Business Officer at Safaricom PLC.
She says the company has provided over 110,000 community health workers with devices that allow them to seamlessly provide healthcare across the country.
“Safaricom is not a stranger to supporting health as a pillar of economic development. As a company, we invest in systems that support digitization of healthcare systems across hospitals and across the country,” said Kropac.
She added that critical data, early detection, and early awareness were important in building a resilient and healthy economy.