Dr Khalid Taleb, the Moroccan Minister of Health and Social Protection, has said the country aims to produce 60 percent of the world’s vaccine by 2040, aiming to achieve health sovereignty in Africa.
Dr Taleb, who noted that Africa currently produces less than one percent of the vaccine consumed in the world, added that efforts are ongoing to ensure that the targets are met before 2040.
Dr. Taleb made this known while speaking at the 2nd African Conference on Health Risk Reduction in Marrakech, organised by African Global Health and the Moroccan government under the patronage of King Mohammed VI.
The conference themes “Health in African: Water, Environment and Security” brought together experts and policymakers from 80 countries to discuss how to promote greater protection of health and the environment.
Dr Taleb explained that the conference would adopt best practices in Governance, Financing and financial sustainability with a focus on critical sectors that impact health risk reduction, food security improvement and preservation of the ecosystems considering that this directly impacts public health and quality of life.
He also expressed the willingness of the King of Morocco to reform the National Health System and expand social protection for the people of Morocco so that no citizen would be left behind, hence the need for the huge investment of human resources of international experts and researchers at the conference.
He however expressed worried that Africans who are experts in various fields of endeavors were migrating from the continent, saying the vision of the Moroccan authority was to establish an African framework for Universal Health Coverage through insights from public health experts.
Similarly, the Moroccan Minister of Agriculture Fisheries, Rural Development, Water and Forests, Mohammed Sadiki explained that Morocco was recycling its water system and embarking on massive irrigation for food sufficiency to reduce the impact of drought in the North Africa region.
In her submission, the President of the Africa Global Health, Sarah Imane Kandili, said the Marrakesh Declaration of November 2021 was geared toward signing a pact with some Africa countries towards the development of the Africa ecosystem.
Imane Kandili maintained that the Africa Global Health would continue to improve advocacy through the Universal Health Coverage to better the continent health system and protect the ecosystem against the Green House Gas Emissions.
While speaking during a panel session on Nutrition and women’s Health, Dana Weiner, Director of Nutrition Sheba Global, Israel, encouraged women to grow their food and desist from sugar for a healthy living.
Also, in her presentation, the representative of the International Water Management Institutes, Ghana, Dr Olufunke Koffi said the organisation was focused on impacting the global south on water management Issues to use water effectively on cland.