The Federal Government reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering commitment to promoting health security across West Africa and stressed the need for enhanced regional cooperation, preparedness and coordinated response to public health emergencies.
Speaking at the West Africa Regional Review and Coordination Conference (RCC) organized by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in collaboration with other agencies, Health and Human Services Minister Adekunle Salako said no member state can address health threats in isolation. He emphasized that the strength of the region lies in shared oversight, shared information, shared expertise and shared responsibility.
Salako noted that the recent health crisis has highlighted the region’s vulnerability and the need to be better prepared for future emergencies. He called for greater solidarity, less fragmentation and concerted action to protect West Africa with a strong, united and sustainable system.
He called on West African countries to remain united, strengthen coordination frameworks and deepen technical cooperation. Minister Salako expressed Nigeria’s strong support for the Africa CDC’s five-pillar health security agenda, the African Epidemic Fund (AfEF), the continued development of the Regional Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) coordination platform, and the broader goal of enabling Africa to lead its own health priorities and influence global health governance reform.
The minister said the conference was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s health sector transformation agenda, noting that Nigeria’s reform priorities reflect the goals promoted by the Africa CDC and ECOWAS. These include strengthening emergency preparedness and response, modernizing public health information and surveillance systems, expanding testing and diagnostic capacity, promoting local manufacturing, and strengthening health security sovereignty.
Dr. Alinon Koko, regional director of Africa CDC’s West Africa Regional Coordination Center, said in a speech that the region continues to face infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and other threats that place significant strain on health systems.
“But we have proven time and time again that collaboration is our greatest strength,” Coco said.
“The work we do here is not administrative. It’s lifesaving. It’s about helping West Africa’s 355 million people live healthier, safer and more dignified lives.”
Kokor said national heads of testing services, surveillance and emergency response centers from all 15 West African member countries, together with public health leaders, used the meeting to review achievements, share a vision and develop a plan of action for 2026. He thanked Nigeria for its continued support and disclosed that the Center is developing a framework for a coordinated regional emergency response platform.
He said the conference was also an opportunity for Member States to present progress reports from their national public health authorities, identify regional priorities for 2026 and learn from shared experiences.
UNFPA Resident Representative Ms. Muriel Mafico also spoke, highlighting the importance of health sector preparedness and lessons learned from past epidemics.
He noted that investing in preparedness saves lives, reduces costs and allows for a timely response to health emergencies.
Mafico stressed the importance of strong national and regional leadership and stressed the need for increased domestic funding. “We need resources invested in preparedness in this region,” she said.
Similarly, Dr. Yuspa Touray, Permanent Secretary of the Gambian Ministry of Health and RETAC Western Regional Chair, said the theme of the conference was timely given the need to strengthen health systems across West Africa based on past experiences.
Mr. Touray said strengthening regional collaboration would allow countries to share resources and improve collective responses to health challenges. “Despite Africa having some of the best minds, we suffered during a period of vaccine shortages. We are still facing pandemics and outbreaks across the region, and at times struggling to contain them,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, Africa CDC, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and other member states reaffirmed their commitment to establishing a harmonized and coordinated public health emergency preparedness and response platform across West Africa.
