Alongside health ministers, the roundtable which was supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), brought together partners to discuss the urgent need for a Lassa fever vaccine. The disease kills over 4,000 people annually, and with climate change driving its spread, up to 700 million people could be at risk in the nearest future.

Ministers reaffirmed their political commitment to accelerating vaccine readiness and emphasised the following priorities:

• Mobilising national, regional, and international resources through joint financing mechanisms.

• Strengthening laboratory capacity, clinical trial infrastructure, and regulatory systems.

• Ensuring that investments in Lassa fever vaccine readiness contribute to broader pandemic preparedness.

This reflects West Africa’s collective effort to deliver a safe and effective Lassa fever vaccine while building stronger, more resilient health systems.

Read full communique - https://bit.ly/lasfevvacred

The summit brought together dignitaries including former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (Mauritius), alongside the AU Commissioner for Health and the Director-General of World Health Organisation to launch the Accra Initiative, a bold framework for reimagining global health governance.

With diminishing international assistance, emerging health threats and the rapidly evolving global geopolitical and health landscape, the summit highlighted an urgent need for a new global health order, one that places Africa at the centre of decision-making, financing, and innovation.

Key highlights from the Accra initiative:

• Call for a reimagined global health order that empowers nations to lead resilient and self-sustaining health responses.

• Placed health within a broader agenda for stimulating investment and economic transformation.

• Principles endorsed:

  i. stronger continental leadership and accountability.

  ii. equity, transparency, and inclusive participation of low- and middle-income countries and civil societies.

  iii. sustainable financing from domestic, regional, and private sources.

  iv. Africa-led standards in data sovereignty and manufacturing.

  v. cross-sectoral collaboration linking health with security and economic policies.

• Strategic outcomes:

  i. creation of a presidential high-level panel to advance a framework for reimagined global health governance.

  ii. launch of the SUSTAIN Initiative, a new framework to bridge funding gaps, mobilise domestic resources, and embed health sovereignty into Africa’s economic platforms.

Looking ahead

The Accra Initiative represents a pivotal step toward a healthier, more equitable future for all. Beyond the specific domain of health, it will also serve as a reference point and contributor to the broader discussions around reforming multilateralism, global cooperation and development for a sustainable, post-aid world.

Read full communiqué - https://bit.ly/aicommunique