Statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and AU Champion on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, to the High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State, Governments and Partners on the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak

Your Excellency, Chair of the African Union, President Évariste Ndayishimiye,
Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr António Guterres,
Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mr Mahamoud Ali Youssouf,
Your Excellencies Prime Ministers and Ministers,
Director-General of the WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
Director General of the Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya,
Developmental partners, 
Philanthropists, 
Global health institutions, 
Friends,

I thank the Chairperson of the African Union for convening this important meeting at a critical moment for our continent. 

We also welcome and convey our sincere appreciation to the leaders from across the world that have joined us in solidarity.

It has been a month since we last met, where we demonstrated political will and mobilised just under 500 million US dollars in pledges from various countries, global health institutions, banks and philanthropic organisations. 

This is a critical opportunity to take stock and renew our commitments.

Our collective resolve remains vested in the health and livelihoods of our people and the brave health workers who fight this terrible threat on the frontlines. 

We mourn the lives that have been lost to this disease, and convey our condolences to the families and communities that have been affected by the spread of Ebola. 

We support the recently launched Continental Preparedness and Response Plan and are determined to ensure it is adequately financed. 

In this regard, I am pleased to announce that South Africa is increasing its pledge to 13.5 million US dollars as our commitment to solidarity and sovereignty for the people of this continent. 

I call upon all leaders to maintain or increase their pledges, and all those who made pledges at the last meeting to convert them in full into cash, medical countermeasures or technical assistance.

With no vaccine or antiviral, every day that transmission continues unchecked, the human cost rises. 

The West Africa Ebola epidemic demonstrated that delayed action can transform a localised outbreak into a regional and global crisis. 

This is why our response must focus on breaking the transmission and stopping Ebola at its source.

However, our public health measures are being thwarted by the volatile environment in which the response is being undertaken. 

As political leaders, we can help by creating safe corridors for the passage of goods and services. 

We must seek a ceasefire to allow the Ebola response to proceed unhindered.

We must continue to strengthen cross-border collaboration.

We must expand rapid diagnostic testing, contact tracing and community awareness. 

We should be concerned that we have no biotechnology in our arsenal against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

While we welcome and unreservedly support the efforts of GAVI, CEPI and others, Africa cannot depend indefinitely on external markets and production systems during health emergencies.

The response to Ebola therefore cannot end when this outbreak ends.

This moment must become a turning point. 

As African leaders, we must accelerate investment in local manufacturing, strengthen the African Medicines Agency and operationalise the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism.

African manufacturers must have predictable markets and African countries must have reliable access to lifesaving products in emergencies.

We must all take heed of Africa CDC’s stance against imposing blanket and unsubstantiated travel bans.

I call upon African financial institutions, development banks, philanthropies and the African private sector to join governments in this effort.

I call upon our international partners to continue to stand with Africa in a spirit of solidarity and mutual responsibility. 

We welcome the bold actions being undertaken by the World Bank to free up capital for the response. 

We call on all financing institutions to be as flexible and understanding in this hour of need.

As countries, as a continent and as a global community, our actions must be evidence-based, scientifically sound and mutually accountable. 

The world will not be safe from Ebola until we have eliminated it everywhere.

And when we do eliminate this threat – which we surely will – we must intensify our efforts to build a resilient global health architecture that will safeguard our people now and into the future.

I thank you.