Africa Must Build Trust and Preparedness Before The Next Crisis – Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu
As the world continues to recover from the shocks of recent pandemics, the Assistant Director-General of Health Emergency Intelligence at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, has urged African countries to strengthen preparedness and build public trust long before the next health crisis strikes.
Speaking with Bassey Ita Ikpang at the 2025 World Health Summit in Berlin, Dr Ihekweazu said the continent’s constant exposure to infectious diseases, humanitarian crises, and conflicts makes early detection, response, and trust-building non-negotiable.
“You cannot start building capacity in the middle of a crisis,” he warned. “You must build institutions, processes, and teams in advance.
That’s what we did in Nigeria, and it became a model for others.”
Dr Ihekweazu, who led Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for five years, recalled how the agency’s early investments, made years before COVID-19, positioned the country for an effective response during the pandemic.
He noted that countries like Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Sierra Leone have recently established or strengthened their own national public health agencies, following WHO’s sustained advocacy for stronger health institutions across Africa.
According to him, trust remains the cornerstone of crisis response.
He recounted how Nigerians’ confidence in the NCDC made communication easier during the pandemic, a trust earned through consistent engagement and transparency.
“Trust is everything,” he said. “It’s easy to lose but hard to rebuild. You don’t build trust during a crisis; you build it through everyday engagement and care.”
Dr Ihekweazu advised African governments to invest continually in their public health systems and nurture public confidence even in times of peace, stressing that credibility built over time is what sustains cooperation during emergencies.
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