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Uganda’s health minister, Dr Ruth Aceng, has urged the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries to prioritize the health decisions that were made during the bloc’s 19th summit in Kampala in January this year.

She made the call on Saturday (May 25) while chairing a virtual meeting of NAM health ministers aimed at exchanging views on matters of public health of interest.

According to her ministry’s statement on social media platform X, Aceng was accompanied by Uganda’s deputy permanent representative to the Ugandan Mission in Geneva (Switzerland), Arthur Kafeero.

“The decisions on health from the 19th summit of our Heads of State and Government in Kampala in January this year have to be prioritized as they underline the need for us all to build deeper cooperation and partnership,” she said.

Aceng noted that they were meeting at a time when despite the many reasons of hope, they continue to be faced with a record number of health challenges.

“There are crises from new and expanding conflicts, the recurring epidemics and pandemics to building resilience and preparedness,” she said.

Uganda asserted its global presence at the NAM summit, which ran from January 15 to 20 at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort Hotel in Kampala.

The summit saw the East African country assume the NAM leadership for three years.

Deeply concerned

NAM heads of state and government were deeply concerned about the threat posed by the emergence and spread of pandemics and health emergencies, including COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, swine flu A, and avian influenza.

They noted that these diseases had produced or had the potential to cause severe impacts, not only on public health worldwide but also on the regional and national economies.

They called for enhanced cooperation and coordination at the national, regional, sub-regional, and international levels, to prioritize pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

In this regard, their Kampala Declaration said, to support the inter-governmental negotiation process of the international instrument under the World Health Organization on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

They stated that they were intended to address pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, while reaffirming the importance of the principle of equity and ensuring universal, timely equitable, and unhindered access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medical countermeasures, such as vaccines, medicines, medical equipment, diagnostic tests, and other health technologies, particularly in developing countries, most notably in low-income and middle-income countries.

NAM is the largest grouping of states worldwide after the UN and as chair of the organization, Uganda is expected to coordinate positions of member countries towards major international issues, to strengthen their negotiating power vis-a-vis the developed countries.