Towards the development of an African Charter on health risk reduction based on a multi-stakeholder vision

The participants in the 1st African Conference on the reduction of risks in health, placed under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, recommended, on Friday in Marrakech at the end of the work of this conclave, the elaboration of a Charter of risk reduction in health, based on a multi-stakeholder vision, as an essential approach to the sovereign transformation of health systems in an African environment that favors solidarity and cooperation in the service of the health security of all citizens and of all the citizens of the continent.

The 800 participants in this conclave, which brought together for three days, African and international decision-makers, experts, specialists and professionals, also called for the promotion and strengthening of health systems on the African continent, by adopting a reduction approach. risks.

They also recommended the improvement of the daily living conditions of all citizens, through the improvement of the environment in which individuals are born, grow, live and age, and this, thanks to the transformation health systems, ethical risk reduction strategies and innovations in risk reduction for known health risks, we read in the Marrakech Declaration that sanctioned the work of this high mass of the world of health. health in Africa and elsewhere.

They also advocated for the development of health care policies in Africa, centered on universal medical coverage for the patient-citizen, and respect for equitable access to quality health care as a fundamental human right, emphasizing the importance of promoting social protection mechanisms and ensuring access to essential, quality and affordable health services, including pharmaceutical drugs and traditional and natural medicines.

In their recommendations, the speakers insisted on the need to present response strategies to the Covid-19 epidemic, to learn lessons that could serve as examples for the implementation of a efficient, collaborative and resilient healthcare in Africa.

They also noted the imperative to accelerate the implementation of the primary health care vision and strategy, to develop telemedicine and the use of digital health to reach isolated and vulnerable populations, and to improve access to quality psychiatric and mental health care, in line with the development of knowledge and treatments, and the specific needs of patients related to their age, socioeconomic condition, environment and vulnerability.

The participants in this conclave, on the other hand, recommended recognizing addictions, with or without substance, as diseases eligible for reimbursable care, insisting on the need to promote education for a healthier way of life, including physical activity, healthy diets and safer lifestyle choices, and to increase financing for health using innovative and sustainable financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, to increase the allocation national resources and to welcome global solidarity.

They further emphasized the promotion of medical cannabis as a new controlled treatment for specific symptoms and diseases, and the establishment of ethical guidelines to regulate medical cannabis as a measure of risk reduction.

Recommending to recognize that digital health offers the opportunity to develop and strengthen African health systems by removing barriers such as cost, accessibility or insufficient quality of care, while expanding the range of services provided, especially in regions where infrastructure and medical personnel are scarce or non-existent, the participants called for an annual conference to ensure the continuation and acceleration of efforts to improve universal medical coverage for all on the continent African.