The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has convened a three-day regional workshop in Benin’s commercial capital, Cotonou, to advance efforts to reduce preventable maternal and child deaths and strengthen healthcare systems across the continent.
Representing Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, West Africa Regional Director Dr. Alinon Kokou said stronger investment in reproductive, maternal and child health is essential to achieving Africa’s health sovereignty. He urged governments to use the assessment’s evidence to shape policies, increase investment and deliver measurable improvements for women, children and adolescents.
The meeting, organised in collaboration with the African Union Commission, African Union member states and development partners, brings together policymakers, health officials and technical experts from West, Central and North Africa to review the findings of the first continent-wide assessment of sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) systems.
The assessment examined national policies, governance, financing arrangements and healthcare service delivery in 53 of the African Union’s 55 member states, making it one of the most comprehensive reviews of maternal and child health conducted on the continent.
Officials said the findings will form the basis of a continental report designed to guide policy reforms, improve government accountability and accelerate progress toward eliminating preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants are expected to endorse a reference report that will guide national reforms, support resource mobilisation and strengthen monitoring of the African Union’s maternal and child health commitments, including the long-term goal of achieving zero preventable maternal deaths.
