The year 2020 has confirmed to the whole world that one of the most important and toughest portfolios to hold in a government is that of a Minister of Health.
In Africa, our health ministers have been at the forefront of the fight against the Corona Virus pandemic and with support from the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, there's hope of Africans rising from this pandemic, scathed but stronger.
Primary among the roles of a health minister are overseeing the formulation of health policies, providing strategic direction of health delivery services, allocating resources and evaluating the health status of their countries. The COVID19 pandemic has added one more fundamental function to the list. Today, our health ministers have become warlords, assigned to lead various taskforces to fight the coronavirus pandemic in their respective countries.
In all the 54 African countries, health ministries are crucial members of cabinet. There, they convey health issues of the people to president and give status updates of health policies and projects.
In the face of this pandemic I decided to research into the professional and academic backgrounds of Africa's Health Ministers. I discovered that only 36 out of 54 representing 67% of African health ministers have an educational background in health. The rest were appointed because of their political records and association with the powers that be.
It is interesting to note that in the Republic of Seychelles for instance, the President doubles as the health minister.
Another factor of keen interest is the fact that, as it stands, only 14 of Africa’s health ministers are female.
Nobody knows when COVID19 will die down or even if it will at all. While the world gunners its strengths to fight this war, how ready is Africa? How capable are Africa's Health Ministers?
To read more about health ministers in Africa, I have published their profiles on www.princeakpah.com/2020healthministers
Below is the list of 2020 54 Health Ministers in Africa (27/04/20)
Abdellatif Mekki (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Tunisia
Abderrahmane Benbouzid (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Population and Hospital Reform, Algeria
Abdoulaye Sarr - Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Senegal
Ahmad Ahmad (Dr.) – Minister of Health, Madagascar
Ahmadou Lamin Samateh (Dr.) - Minister of Health, The Gambia
Akram Ali Eltom (Dr.) - Ministry of Health, Sudan
Alpha Tejan Wurie (Prof.) - Minister of Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone
Amna Nurhusein - Minister of Health, Eritrea
Arlindo Nascimento do Rosário (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Social Security, Cape Verde
Armindo Tiago (Prof. Dr.) - Minister of Health, Mozambique
Chitalu Chilufya (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Zambia
Daniel Ngamije (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Rwanda
Djama Elmi Okieh (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Djibouti
Edgar Neves (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Sao Tome and Principe
Ehmid Bin Omar - Minister of Health, Libya
Elizabeth Acuei Yor - Minister of Health, South Sudan
Eugène Aouélé Aka (Dr.) - Minister of Health & Public Hygiene, Cote D'Ivoire
Fawziya Abikar (Dr.) - Minister of Health & Social Care, Somalia
Eteni Longondo (Dr.) - Minister of Public Health, DR Congo
Hala Zayed (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Population, Egypt
Igance Benjamin Hounkpatin (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Benin
Illiassou Mainassara (Dr.) - Minister of Public Health, Niger
Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo - Minister of Health and Population, Congo
Jappie Mhango - Minister of Health and Population, Malawi
Danny Faure - Minister of Health, Seychelles
Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Wellness, Mauritius
Kalumbi Shangula (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Social Services, Namibia
Khalid Ait Taleb (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Morocco
Kwaku Agyemang-Manu - Minister of Health, Ghana
Lemogang Kwape (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Wellness, Botswana
Léonie Claudine Sorgho/Lougue (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Burkina Faso
Lia Tadesse Gebremedhin (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Ethiopia
Lizzie Nkosi - Minister of Health, Eswatini
Loub Yakouti Zaidou - Minister of Health, Comoros
Mahamoud Youssouf Khayal - Minister of Public Health, Chad
Manaouda Malachie (Dr.) - Minister of Public Health, Cameroon
Maria Inácia Có Sanhá - Minister of Public Health, Family and Social Cohesion, Guinea Bissau
Max Limoukou (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Gabon
Michel Sidibe - Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Mali
Mohamed Nedhirou Ould Hamed (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Mauritania
Moustafa Mijiyawa (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Togo
Mutahi Kagwe - Cabinet Secretary for Health, Kenya
Nkaku Kabi - Minister of Health, Lesotho
Obadiah Moyo (Dr.) - Minister of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
Osagie Ehanire (Dr.) - Minister Health, Nigeria
Pierre Somse (Dr.) – Minister of Health, Central African Republic
Remy Lamah (Dr. Col.) - Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Guinea
Ruth Jane Aceng (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Uganda
Salomon Nguema Owono - Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Equatorial Guinea
Silvia Lutucuta (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Angola
Thadee Ndikumana (Dr.) - Minister of Public Health and Fight against HIV &AIDS, Burundi
Ummy Mwalimu - Minister of Health, Community Development, Gender, Seniors and Children, Tanzania
Wilhelmina Jallah (Dr.) - Minister of Health, Liberia
Zweli Mkhize (Dr.) - Minister of Health, South Africa
Research and article by Prince Akpah, MD of Avance Media
Mafunzo ya Ufugaji Bora na Matibabu, Jiunge sasa kwa KUBOFYA HAPA
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