Corporate Africa Health Foundation

The recently held its fourth conference to promote public-private partnerships for prevention and medical care in Africa. Held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 7 to 9 February 2010, it was organised under the patronage of the Ethiopian Minister for Health and focused more specifically on cooperation between Africa’s health communities and international medical services.

The following subjects featured on the conference programme: the health situation and medical care in Ethiopia, the history of Ethiopian health care, the impact of natural disasters on modern Ethiopia, strengthening health capacities, regional health cooperation and pooling experiences inside Africa and with other continents.

The is based in London and has its origins in cooperation between the publication, Corporate Africa, member of the Times Publications press group, and many partners. It seeks to liaise between the public and private sectors to help national governments and public services of African countries in combating infectious diseases. The Foundation is the international counterpart of a Ghanaian NGO, Jubilee Committee.

It publishes a quarterly report on public-private partnership and sustainable development in the field of health in Africa, which is circulated widely among government services, international agencies and development actors. The conferences the Foundation organises seek to provide an opportunity for high-level experts from public services, universities and associations to meet.

In organising events such as the Addis Ababa conference, Corporate Africa teams up with the company BD (Becton Dickinson), a specialist in medical technology and laboratory equipment, and with African national associations active in the fight against HIV/Aids. This cooperation dates back to 2007 and was initiated on the occasion of an agreement between the Ghanaian Government and BD with a view to creating a public health reference laboratory in Accra. This laboratory now acts as a reference centre for the entire region. Other major pharmaceutical or medical technology companies such as Novo Nordisk also helped set up this centre, which provides a design platform for health projects involving the Ghanaian Government and private companies.

Outside the health field, Corporate Africa publishes in areas such as natural resources and aims to create a synergy between the West Africa and Southern Africa regions, via South Africa, as a means of encouraging the flow of investments across the African continent. 

Hegel Goutier