The Africa Public Health Foundation (APHF) Governing Council members met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the regular council meeting. This was the first physical meeting after having virtual meetings since March 2020 when the first Council Members were selected, following the establishment of the Foundation in September 2019. The Governing Council is comprised of six council members each having a different skill set, ranging from health, international development, and private sector business, as a way to address the wide perspective of the APHF mandate. The Council ensures that the Foundation’s obligations to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), donors, and other stakeholders are met with effectiveness and integrity, key premises to ensure a meaningful contribution to the efforts to the response to public health emergencies and reinforce health systems in Africa. APHF has continued to strengthen its internal processes and procedures, driven by the need to have policies and procedures that guide critical activities of the Foundation, meet due diligence requirements of various donors, and ensure an audit-proof organization. Also in attendance were the leads of the four main departments of the APHF Secretariat, and two officials in charge of the Council matters.
Dr. Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, Ag. Director of Africa CDC was the guest of honour and graced the event by delivering the keynote address at the opening session accompanied by Akhona Tshangela, Programme Coordinator for Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) under Africa CDC; Ms Tshangela is the representative of Africa CDC to the APHF Council Meetings, where Africa CDC has a permanent guest seat. Dr Ouma expressed his satisfaction with the current engagement between APHF and Africa CDC. “Pandemics do not wait for structured processes. The pandemic tested our ability to deliver and collaborate. The Foundation was set up at a time when it was much needed as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic where the funds raised by APHF towards the emergency response and preparedness proved to be beneficial to curb the spread of the disease, through testing, trace of contacts, capacity development, and vaccination across different countries in the continent.” He added, “As of today, 25.2% of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated and this translates to over 350 million . Our goal is to reach at least 70% of our target population. We appreciate the backing we have received from various donors through the Foundation.”
Dr. Bernard Haufiku, the Governing Council Chair and Founder of APHF said, “So far, the achievements have been phenomenal, and we can feel the impact of having this Foundation. We need to continue focusing our public health efforts in Africa on other health emergencies as well, such as Ebola and Monkeypox currently being faced in a few countries. The efforts of the Governing Council and the secretariat team are appreciated.” Dr. Haufiku added, “We are in the process of enrolling a new Council Member, expected to be officially confirmed once the due diligence is complete. This will leave us with a total of seven members of the Council, out of the nine as set out in the APHF charter.”
Dr. Francisco Songane, Ag. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of APHF and a member of the Governing Council gave a progress update on the highlights and achievements of the period between Q1-Q4 2022 that contributed to addressing public health challenges in Africa. “We have made tremendous progress and we have been able to raise grants of US$30 million since establishment. As of November 2022, the APHF grant portfolio is US$22.975M. We have more in the pipeline and we continue to look for pragmatic ways to engage with existing and potential .”
To read more about our Governing Council, please click here https://aphf.africa/council-members/
