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Mukudzei Chingwere in CAIRO, Egypt
The 2023 edition of the Africa Health ExCon has officially been opened here by the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi with a call from stakeholders to innovate towards African self- sufficiency in medical provision.

Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Constantino Chiwenga, who is accompanied by his wife Colonel Miniyothabo Chiwenga, is leading Zimbabwe’s participation at the ExCon.

The ExCon is a premier medical Expo bringing together leading medical consumables and pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as specialists, those in medical business and Governments representatives under one roof to brainstorm on how best to better health services on the African continent.

Zimbabwe has taken a leading role in driving and promoting African collaboration in public health management on the realization that for the country to meet its national health targets there is need to pull in the same vein with neighbours.

This tenant was particularly laid bare by the Covid-19 pandemic whose spread and devastation undermined man-made borders.

In his official opening remarks, President El-Sisi Egypt is prepared to play its part in the development of health services in Egypt and Africa as a whole.

Egypt President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga together with his wife Colonel Miniyothabo Chiwenga and other visiting delegates shown some of the medical consumables and equipment being exhibited.

He said, as delegates congregate this week, they should come up with ways of improving the continent’s health system through bolstering local capacities.

Africa Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said it was imperative for Africa to start building capacity towards medical and pharmaceutical self-sufficiency so that the continent is not found wanting in the case of a pandemic as was the case with Covid-19.

“We are supporting the local manufacturing of medical consumables. We cannot afford to find Africa at the back of the supply chain.

“We see the health ExCon as a great step towards towards attaining collective goals,” said Dr Kaseya.

After the official opening VP Chiwenga had a closed door meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli to entrench Zimbabwe’s collaboration with Egypt in the health sector.

“This afternoon we had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Egypt Honourable Mostafa Madbouli following the opening of the Africa Health ExCon by the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi this morning,” said VP Chiwenga.

“You are aware last June I was here for the first edition of this conference.

“So, today we were following up on the areas we discussed last year and then the follow-up which were done by our respective technical staff on all the areas of cooperation between Zimbabwe and the Arab Republic of Egypt with emphasis on the health sector.”