The Permanent Secretary at Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Diana Atwine, has urged African countries to strategically increase domestic funding for health laboratories and the wider health sector to ensure the continent’s long-term health security.
Atwine made the call while delivering a keynote address at the 2025 Annual Africa Union CDC Laboratory Symposium held at the Adwa Memorial Convention Centre in Addis Ababa.
Speaking under the theme “Resilience in Diagnostics and Genomics for Public Health Security in a Shifting Funding Landscape,” she emphasised that the survival of the African race faced with some of the world’s most severe health threats—will depend on the continent’s ability to invest strategically in strengthening laboratory systems and healthcare infrastructure.
Drawing from Uganda’s experience, Atwine urged African Union member states to view the decline in donor assistance as an opportunity to build local capacity, enhance efficiency, and promote health and biological sovereignty.
She received resounding applause for her bold and practical proposals to strengthen the continent’s health systems through integration, increased domestic investment, local manufacturing, and public-private partnerships.
Exciting participants with Uganda’s Build Uganda Buy Uganda (BUBU) policy, Atwine proposed that the African Union adopt a continental version the Build Africa Buy Africa (BABA) policy to boost local production and reduce external dependence.
Atwine was honored as the keynote speaker for this premier gathering that brought together African Union ministers of health, AU CDC experts, development partners, laboratory directors, scientists, and policymakers from across the world. The three-day event runs from November 11 to 13, 2025.
The opening session also featured remarks from Ethiopia’s Minister of State for Health, Dereje Duguma, the Deputy Director of the Africa CDC, and representatives from China, the European Union, and the Global Fund.
Atwine was accompanied by the Director General of Health Services, Charles Olaro, and the Commissioner of National Health Laboratories and President of the Africa Lab Directors Forum, Susan Nabadda.