OPENING SPEECH

BY

HIS EXCELLENCY ALBERT M. MUCHANGA
COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY
AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE AFRICAN UNION SMART HEALTH MONITORING CENTER

THURSDAY 26TH OCTOBER 2017
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me a great pleasure to welcome all of you to the inauguration of the African Union Smart Health Monitoring Center. There is no doubt that a system-wide transformation of our healthcare system is needed to meet the challenges arising from a fast growing AUC and African Union Member State Embassies population and increasing chronic disease burden such as diabetes and hypertension. As the landscape changes, our needs will change, and we will need to change the solution. The Smart Health Monitoring Center that is being inaugurated today provides a timely platform for us to take a deep dive into our transformation strategy and efforts so as to evolve a sustainable healthcare solution at the AUC and give the community we serve good health.
The African Union Vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena” cannot be achieved without a healthy population.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the FOCAC (China-Africa Cooperation Forum) Summit which took place in Johannesburg from 3rd to 5th December 2015, H.E Chairman Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, stated that his Government will support Chinese Medical and Health Enterprises to go to Africa to invest, operate hospitals, produce medicines, improve health information systems, and ensure medical products availability in Africa as part of self-sustaining development.
It was in this regard that the African Union Commission (AUC) and the China based technology company, ZTE, on 24 June 2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in the area of ICT and smart digital transformation, and provide AUC with a Smart Health Monitoring Center.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Permit me to congratulate the AU Medical & Health Services Directorate and ZTE for putting together this excellent healthcare solution. Today, with the successful implementation of the Smart Health Monitoring Center, we are celebrating a moment of Africa Union and ZTE Corporation. This could not have come at a better time than now that the MHSD is undergoing technologically transformation and reduced to a large extent manual processes and the use of paper in its day to day activities. I hope, over time, to see more technological innovations that will benefit our healthcare systems and our people.
I thank you all for your kind attention.