The African Union and the European Union are to hold a health dialogue on strengthening the health partnership between Africa and Europe on Monday, February 5, 2024, at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The high-level meeting will be attended by officials and staff from both the African Union Commission and the European Commission, as well as some member states of the AU and the EU.
According to a statement from the African Union (AU), the high-level dialogue between the African Union Commission and the European Union is to strengthen the health partnership between Africa and Europe.
The high-level dialogues are jointly organized by the African Union Commission, through its Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development, and the European Union. AU statement added
It was at the 6th EU-AU Summit that was held in Brussels in 2022 that both parties reaffirmed their commitment to the right to health. Representatives of the European Union and its member states will visit the African Union in Addis Ababa from February 5 to 7, 2024, to dialogue towards strengthening Africa-EU cooperation on health.
The statement further noted that this mission is part of the Belgian EU Presidency’s aim to accelerate equal access to health and strengthen the Africa-EU partnership on global health. This partnership is going to be a precursor to the Belgian EU Presidency’s high-level event on health, which will take place in Brussels with the African Union on March 20, 2024.
The statement also noted that high-level health and humanitarian aid dialogues aim to consolidate the Africa-EU Global Health Partnership, enhance the resilience of African and European health systems in response to evolving health burdens, climate change-related challenges, and emerging pandemics, and explore ways to work together on humanitarian policy and action, particularly focusing on underfunded and forgotten crises, in the context of the New Public Health Order for Africa and the EU Global Gateway strategy.
