Monrovia – African health stakeholders, under the banner of Galien Africa, have renewed calls for urgent reforms and stronger collaboration to tackle growing health, climate, and environmental threats, warning that fragmented responses could deepen vulnerabilities across the continent.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh
The call was reinforced during deliberations at the One Health Summit 2026 in Lyon, where more than 200 participants from across Africa and beyond converged to assess progress and chart a new course for implementing the “One Health” approach.
The approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health—an idea experts say is critical as Africa grapples with overlapping crises ranging from disease outbreaks to climate change and food insecurity.
Africa’s Growing Role
Galien Africa, a key driver of the initiative, highlighted the continent’s increasing influence in shaping global health conversations. The organization has played a leading role in past engagements, including the 2023 and 2025 editions of the “One Sustainable Health for All Forum” and the 2024 Dakar forum.
Participants pointed to Africa’s community-based innovations and experience in managing complex health challenges as evidence that the continent must take a central role in designing a more equitable global health system.
They reaffirmed commitments made under the Lyon Declaration 2025, stressing that Africa’s voice must be amplified in international health governance.
Mounting Threats
Experts warned that climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss are increasingly undermining public health, especially in developing countries.
They noted that global health security now depends on integrated, multi-sector responses—moving beyond traditional healthcare systems to include environmental protection, food systems, and data-driven planning.
“Health crises can no longer be addressed in isolation,” participants emphasized, pointing to recent pandemics and climate-related disasters as evidence of deep interdependence.
Key Recommendations
The forum produced a set of sweeping recommendations aimed at governments, regional bodies, and international partners. These include institutionalizing the One Health approach through stronger legal and governance systems, developing early warning systems linking health, climate, and environmental data, investing in geospatial technologies and data accessibility, and promoting African-led innovation tailored to local realities.
The forum also called for expanding local production of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and medical technologies, human capital with interdisciplinary skills, enhancing coordination among institutions and stakeholdersEnsuring inclusive participation of communities, youth, and women, supporting the role of civil society and the media in public awareness, and advancing a unified African voice in global health decision-making
Call for Concrete Action
Despite the ambitious proposals, participants stressed that declarations alone are not enough. They called for measurable, well-funded actions to translate commitments into reality.
The stakeholders argued that fully implementing the One Health framework could drive h
