Joint Declaration Signed by 12 African Health Authority Delegations

May 13, 2022

On 13 May 2022, one year after the Children’s Surgical Hospital in Entebbe, Uganda, began activities, EMERGENCY hosted representatives from 12 African Health Authorities to outline the achievements of the African Network of Medical Excellence (ANME), and shape its future path.

The ‘Building Medicine of Excellence in Africa’ international workshop, organised by EMERGENCY, the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was attended by representatives of health authorities in Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Central African Republic, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Following a roundtable discussion, a Joint Declaration was signed, laying out the commitments that will guide the next steps for the African Network of Medical Excellence:

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Joint Declaration

We, Ministers of Health and representatives of the Health Authorities of: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, meet today at the “Building Medicine of Excellence in Africa” international workshop, jointly organised by the Republic of Uganda’s Ministry of Health, the Republic of Uganda’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the international NGO EMERGENCY, on the occasion of the celebration of one year of activities at the Children’s Surgical Hospital in Entebbe, Uganda,

Bearing in mind that strengthening national health systems in middle- and low-income countries is a commonly recognised critical factor in striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);

Reaffirming the principle that healthcare is a fundamental right of every individual, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Recalling the principles of Equality, Quality and Social Responsibility stated in the Manifesto for a Human Rights-Based Medicine, calling for the delivery of high-quality and free of charge healthcare for all;

Acknowledging the lack of facilities that can provide free of charge treatment to common complex diseases in our countries;

Recognising the need to establish Centres of Excellence in Africa to address relevant health priorities providing high standards of medical treatment through secondary and tertiary facilities, to complement disease prevention and primary healthcare delivery;

Appreciating that patients suffering from severe conditions require access to long-term continuity of care that will considerably improve quality of life;

Underlining the importance of developing future generations of health workforce to address the main epidemiological conditions in the African region, thus building more resilient health systems and mitigating brain drain;

Highlighting the fundamental role that Centres of Excellence can have in guaranteeing an adequate platform to provide specialist training;

Understanding that the management of complex systems delivering specialised care should be based on the principles of transparency and efficiency in order to provide effective and equitable services to all patients;

Embracing the crucial role of fruitful regional cooperation in order to ensure proper access to specialised care for patients, knowledge sharing, and guaranteeing the circulation of human resources;

Considering the experiences of the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Sudan and the Children’s Surgical Hospital in Uganda as an example that this model can be feasible, sustainable and replicable;

We hereby, commit to:

Promote the ANME model inside our own countries to build a deeper knowledge of the system and to foster a higher level of political endorsement;
Identify relevant health priorities that can be addressed by a cooperative and comprehensive response, and that allow for the referral of patients from across the region;
Improve regional cooperation amongst ANME countries and partners in order to reinforce the network and all its components;
Advocate jointly to promote the ANME model within the international community;
Join and strengthen efforts to mobilise resources from governments, international institutions, and donors to guarantee the long-term financial sustainability of the African Network of Medical Excellence.

Dated Friday 13th May 2022. Entebbe, Uganda

Ministers of Health and representatives of Health Authorities of:

Somalia: H.E Dr. Nur Fawziya Abikar

South Sudan: H.E Dr. Yolanda Awel Deng Juach

Sudan: H.E Dr. Heitham Mohammed Ibrahim Awadalla

Uganda: H.E Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero

Burundi: Dr. Jean Baptiste Nzorironkankuze

Central African Republic: M.me Chantal Manzibahi Nee N’droumokato

Chad: Dr. Francine Mbaidedji Dekandji

Djibouti: Dr. Saleh Banoita

Eritrea: Dr. Yohannes Teclegiorgis Tewelde

Ethiopia: Dr. Abas Hassen Yesuf

Tanzania: Dr. Januarius Joseph Hinju

Zimbabwe: Dr. Israel Dube

The African Network of Medical Excellence

The African Network of Medical Excellence (ANME) is an innovative model of humanitarian healthcare designed by EMERGENCY, with multinational support from several African Ministries of Health and Health Authorities. The aim of ANME is to develop an integrated network of medical Centres of Excellence across the African continent that can respond to regional health needs.

In 2007, EMERGENCY embarked on a profoundly innovative healthcare cooperation project: to bring healthcare of excellence to Africa, affirming in practice the right of every human being to receive free, high-quality medical care. EMERGENCY’s Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Khartoum, Sudan, was the first completely free heart surgery centre in Africa to provide high-level medical and surgical assistance to children and adults suffering from congenital and acquired heart diseases.

The Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Khartoum, and the Children’s Surgical Centre in Entebbe represent the first two important steps in the construction of the African Network of Medical Excellence.

The ANME Model

Free treatment and medical excellence are the foundations of the healthcare model that the members of our network are working to implement in their countries.

Free healthcare is the essential prerequisite for providing prompt treatment to anyone who needs it.

Medical excellence guarantees high clinical standards for individual procedures and promotes the training of qualified healthcare professionals, research development and local healthcare systems.