Report on the Virtual joint Meeting of African Ministers of Health, ICT and Transport

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa continues to occur in waves with some countries already experiencing third and fourth waves. Whilst a recovery of sorts is underway, it requires concerted regional efforts to be sustained. The continued socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic vindicate the decision by the African Union Commission through the Africa CDC to launch Africa against COVID-19 campaign: saving lives, economies and livelihoods Campaign in August 2020. This
campaign has three main objectives: (1) minimize the spread of infections within and across the borders by creating a public health safe corridor for safe travel; (2) minimize the impacts of COVID-19 on Economies and Livelihoods, and (3) ensure safe re-opening of schools To support the implementation of objectives of goal 1, The Africa CDC has worked closely in collaboration with other stakeholders such as the World Health Organization (WHO), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the private sector to drive the harmonization, standardization, and coordination of entry and exit requirement among the African Union Member States, backed up by the application of technology and digital tools to improve efficiency and outputs. Furthermore, Africa CDC in collaboration with ECONET and PanaBIOS set up digital platforms that led to the establishment of the African Union Trusted Travel (TT) Initiative to assist in the creation of the public health safe corridor for travel. This Initiative has progressed considerably, with the support of the PanaBIOS Consortium, ECONET, and other technical partners, and has been embraced by at least 21 African countries either directly in partnership with the Africa CDC or through their Regional Economic Community (REC). 35 countries also responded favourably to the establishment of the African Union digital laboratory registries, and 49 countries supplied travel restrictions data that form the basis of the XChange mechanism through the Africa CDC Regional Collaborating Centers.
The African Union Commission through Africa CDC and Department of Infrastructure and energy organized a virtual meeting on 28th October 2021 to showcase the progress of Africa CDC Trusted Travel Platform and to unveil the Trusted Health paradigm within the African Union’s 4D Agenda.