Building Africa’s Public Health Defences: Coordinating Rapid Response and Preparedness
In this episode of the Africa Public Health Podcast, Dr. Wessam Mankoula, Regional Director of the Northern Africa RCC and Acting Head of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division at Africa CDC, reflects on the hard-won lessons from COVID-19. The pandemic exposed deep fractures in global health systems, from delayed responses to unequal access to life-saving tools. For Africa, it was not just a wake-up call—it was a turning point. From cross-border collaboration and the politics of data sharing to the power of partnerships and a bold new model for emergency response, this episode unpacks how Africa is reshaping its ...