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Experts urge Africans to invest in healthcare

Govts should ‘focus on prevention’
Africa cannot have development in health without women shaping the agenda, Dr Ebere Okereke said.
Tuyeimo Haidula
African countries have been urged to invest in healthcare and to stop looking at it as “nice to have”. Instead, healthcare should be seen as an investment.

Dr Ebere Okereke, senior technical adviser at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in London and senior public health adviser to the director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), made the call recently at the second International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA), held in Kigali, Rwanda, last week.

Healthcare is a basic human right, she said, adding that governments need to focus on prevention much more consistently to minimise the impacts of pandemics, as this will see their budgets used more efficiently.

“No matter how small our economies are, we have to look at what we are investing into health compared to other areas of our political priorities and rethink the proportions,” Okereke said.

She added: “We cannot have development in health without women shaping the agenda. We have to remember that women are not a single homogenous group but they are diverse in terms of physically ability, experience and areas of work, and that diversity is relevant and important for us to achieve the health goals which are in compass with the African Union [AU] agenda 2063 about the Africa we want”.

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While officially opening the conference, the prime minister of Rwanda, Dr Edouard Ngirente, called on stockholders to venture into Africa’s public health systems that are durable to infectious diseases and other emerging health threats.

“There is need to put health systems that do not only ensure widespread access to health services but also provide quality and efficient health services. It is very important to keep in mind the correlation between the health of our citizens and economic growth, as this will guide the decisions we make.”

The three-day conference was hosted by the Africa CDC and the AU, in partnership with the Rwandan ministry of health and Rwanda Biomedical Centre. It is aimed at building strategies for Africa’s sustainable universal health systems against infectious diseases and other health threats.

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Namibian Sun 2023-12-03

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Premier League: Newcastle 1 vs 0 Manchester United | Forest 0 vs 1 Everton | Burnley 5 vs 0 Sheffield United | Arsenal 2 vs 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers | Brentford 3 vs 1 Luton Town LaLiga: Osasuna 1 vs 1 Real Sociedad | Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Granada | Athletic Club 4 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Girona 2 vs 1 Valencia | Las Palmas 2 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: AC Milan 3 vs 1 Frosinone | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Genoa 1 vs 1 Empoli | Monza 1 vs 2 Juventus European Championships Qualifying: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers English Championship: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 21° | 36° Eenhana: 21° | 32° Oshakati: 24° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 22° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 22° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 21° | 32° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 03:50, High tide: 10:37, Low Tide: 17:05, High tide: 23:20 Swakopmund: 16° | 18° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:48, High tide: 10:35, Low Tide: 17:03, High tide: 23:18 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 36km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:48, High tide: 10:34, Low Tide: 17:03, High tide: 23:17 Rehoboth: 20° | 28° Mariental: 23° | 31° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 35° Aranos: 24° | 30° Lüderitz: 17° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 34° Oranjemund: 14° | 22° Luanda: 26° | 27° Gaborone: 19° | 37° Lubumbashi: 17° | 20° Mbabane: 13° | 30° Maseru: 17° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 22° Durban: 19° | 29° Johannesburg: 20° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 31° Lusaka: 19° | 33° Harare: 17° | 32° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.62 | EUR to NAD 20.25 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.59 | KES to NAD 0.12 | NGN to NAD 0.02 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.81 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 827.79 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 30.85 | USD to KES 153.08 | USD to NGN 788 | USD to ZAR 18.63 | USD to ZMW 23.82 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75705.88 Up +0.23% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1630.14 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 11748.19 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24735.39 Down -0.1% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 8879.08 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.51 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 2.00% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 3.91 UP 0.30% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.97 SAME | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.2 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.48 SAME | Paratus Namibia Holdings 12 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.5 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 63.66 UP 0.80% | Local Index closed 675.32 DOWN 0.41% | Overall Index closed 1631.36 UP 2.13% | Osino Resources Corp 17.1 UP 2.52% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 071.88/OZ UP +1.56% | Copper US$ 3.87/lb UP +1.66% | Zinc US$ 2 537.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.29/BBP DOWN -1.58% | Platinum US$ 936.41/OZ UP +0.50% Sport results: Premier League: Newcastle 1 vs 0 Manchester United | Forest 0 vs 1 Everton | Burnley 5 vs 0 Sheffield United | Arsenal 2 vs 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers | Brentford 3 vs 1 Luton Town LaLiga: Osasuna 1 vs 1 Real Sociedad | Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Granada | Athletic Club 4 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Girona 2 vs 1 Valencia | Las Palmas 2 vs 0 Getafe SerieA: AC Milan 3 vs 1 Frosinone | SS Lazio 1 vs 0 Cagliari | Genoa 1 vs 1 Empoli | Monza 1 vs 2 Juventus European Championships Qualifying: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers English Championship: Swansea City 1 vs 1 Huddersfield Town | Southampton 2 vs 0 Cardiff City | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Stoke City | Millwall FC 1 vs 1 Sunderland | Sheffield Wednesday 3 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Hull City 1 vs 2 Watford | Leeds United 3 vs 2 Middlesbrough | Ipswich Town 2 vs 1 Coventry City | Birmingham City 0 vs 0 Rotherham United | West Bromwich Albion 1 vs 2 Leicester City | Preston North End 0 vs 2 Queens Park Rangers Weather: Katima Mulilo: 22° | 38° Rundu: 21° | 36° Eenhana: 21° | 32° Oshakati: 24° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 31° Tsumeb: 22° | 33° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 30° Omaruru: 22° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Gobabis: 21° | 32° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 03:50, High tide: 10:37, Low Tide: 17:05, High tide: 23:20 Swakopmund: 16° | 18° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:48, High tide: 10:35, Low Tide: 17:03, High tide: 23:18 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 36km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 03:48, High tide: 10:34, Low Tide: 17:03, High tide: 23:17 Rehoboth: 20° | 28° Mariental: 23° | 31° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 35° Aranos: 24° | 30° Lüderitz: 17° | 29° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 34° Oranjemund: 14° | 22° Luanda: 26° | 27° Gaborone: 19° | 37° Lubumbashi: 17° | 20° Mbabane: 13° | 30° Maseru: 17° | 33° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 19° | 28° Cape Town: 17° | 22° Durban: 19° | 29° Johannesburg: 20° | 33° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 31° Lusaka: 19° | 33° Harare: 17° | 32° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.62 | EUR to NAD 20.25 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.62 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.59 | KES to NAD 0.12 | NGN to NAD 0.02 | ZMW to NAD 0.77 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.81 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.22 | USD to AOA 827.79 | USD to BWP 13.56 | USD to EGP 30.85 | USD to KES 153.08 | USD to NGN 788 | USD to ZAR 18.63 | USD to ZMW 23.82 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 75705.88 Up +0.23% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1630.14 Up +0.81% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 11748.19 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 24735.39 Down -0.1% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 8879.08 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.51 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 2.00% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 3.91 UP 0.30% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.97 SAME | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.2 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.48 SAME | Paratus Namibia Holdings 12 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.5 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 63.66 UP 0.80% | Local Index closed 675.32 DOWN 0.41% | Overall Index closed 1631.36 UP 2.13% | Osino Resources Corp 17.1 UP 2.52% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 071.88/OZ UP +1.56% | Copper US$ 3.87/lb UP +1.66% | Zinc US$ 2 537.50/T DOWN -0.3% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 79.29/BBP DOWN -1.58% | Platinum US$ 936.41/OZ UP +0.50%