Regional Health Governance in the Ebola Outbreak: The Need for African Solutions to African Problems
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The need for context specific health policies and interventions in health systems in Africa cannot
be overemphasized. Amongst many recommendations, the roles that regional organizations can
play in health governance and policy implementation are important to this paper. Regional
formations are already playing a significant role in shaping the formation of new socio-political
intra-regional agendas. They also have the potential to engage as global actors through extraregional
diplomacy and bloc activism in support of those agendas. They can also act as bridge
organizations between global initiatives for health cooperation and national health policy
implementation. Regional organizations have great utility, owing to their familiarity with the
region’s specific political and cultural context. In terms of representation, they can provide
leadership in translating global goals into regional context-specific priorities, a forum for the
exchange of views and negotiation of legal instruments. The roles that regions can play are
obviously enormous. The goal therefore is to understand how regional institutions in Africa,
especially in West Africa, are taking advantage of their immerse potentials to affect global
policies and governance for health. Also, in light of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the paper
seeks to assess the roles played by the African Union (AU), Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and its health organization, the West Africa Health Organisation
(WAHO) in response to the epidemic. The paper recommends that regional organizations in
Africa can play central roles in health governance, by steering global governance for health
priorities in Africa, thereby reducing the burden of diseases.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), JA Political science (General)