The Lancet Global Health: A new public health order for Africa’s health security
John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention; Benjamin Djoudalbaye, senior health officer at the African Union; and Olawale Maiyegun, director of the Department of Social Affairs at the African Union Commission

“On July 3, 2017, African heads of state and government issued a declaration and committed to accelerating implementation of the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) and tasked the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union Commission (AUC), and WHO with supporting the venture. The IHR is a global legal agreement that aims to prevent and respond to the spread of diseases to avoid their becoming international crises. … The declaration is not only a reaffirmation of Africa’s determination to scrupulously implement the IHR but should also serve as a new African public health order in addressing health security and inequities on the continent. Here we argue that a new public health order should address two broad categories of barrier that have challenged the implementation of IHR (2005) in Africa: health systems and systems for health…” (November 2017).