Speaking at a High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State and partners on Tuesday, Ramaphosa, in his capacity as African Union Champion on Pandemic Preparedness, said the continent must act decisively to prevent further spread of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.
Ramaphosa said Africa had already mobilised significant commitments, with nearly $500 million in pledges secured at a previous meeting, but stressed that more needs to be done. “This is a critical opportunity to take stock and renew our commitments,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa announced that SA would increase its contribution to the response. “I am pleased to announce that SA is increasing its pledge to $13.5 million,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa urged countries and partners to convert pledges into tangible support, including funding, medical equipment and technical assistance. “I call upon all leaders to maintain or increase their pledges, and convert them in full into cash, medical countermeasures or technical assistance,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa warned that the absence of vaccines or antiviral treatments for the Bundibugyo strain increases the urgency of the response. “With no vaccine or antiviral, every day that transmission continues unchecked, the human cost rises,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa stressed the importance of stopping the outbreak at its source, noting lessons from past epidemics. “The West Africa Ebola epidemic demonstrated that delayed action can transform a localised outbreak into a regional and global crisis,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa highlighted the need for safe operating conditions for health workers, calling for measures to support humanitarian access. “As political leaders, we can help by creating safe corridors; we must seek a ceasefire to allow the Ebola response to proceed unhindered,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa also called for strengthened cross-border collaboration, expanded testing, contact tracing and community awareness to break transmission chains.
Ramaphosa raised concerns about Africa’s reliance on external supply chains for medical products, urging increased investment in local capacity. “Africa cannot depend indefinitely on external markets and production systems during health emergencies,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said the outbreak should serve as a turning point for the continent’s health systems.“This moment must become a turning point; we must accelerate investment in local manufacturing,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa also backed efforts to strengthen continental institutions, including the African Medicines Agency and pooled procurement mechanisms, to improve access to critical supplies.
Ramaphosa cautioned against restrictive measures that could hinder the response. “We must all take heed against imposing blanket and unsubstantiated travel bans,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa called on international partners, financial institutions and the private sector to support the response and demonstrate flexibility in funding mechanisms. “The world will not be safe from Ebola until we have eliminated it everywhere,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa said long-term efforts must focus on building resilient health systems capable of responding to future pandemics. “We must intensify our efforts to build a resilient global health architecture,” Ramaphosa said.
–ChannelAfrica–
