During their discussion, they discussed various priorities, particularly the new role of the African Union Champion for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Health.

Stating that innovation has always been a key foundation for Africa’s growth, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said that harnessing the power of AI and digital technologies to address the changing challenges facing our health sector is essential to strengthen our health systems, expand access, and achieve better outcomes for our people.

The EU-African Union Health Partnership, a milestone in strengthening Africa’s health security, resilience, and sovereignty, is reportedly focused on three new initiatives.

Ethiopia is fully committed to working closely with the Africa CDC, the EU, and all partners to ensure strong systems, strong institutions, and better health outcomes for communities, said Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba.

The National Spine Center, built at the Millennium Medical College campus of St. Paul's Hospital, was inaugurated in the presence of the Minister of Health and other senior officials, the Ambassador of Israel to Ethiopia, the founder and veteran surgeons of JDC, St. Paul's leaders, and many stakeholders.

During the discussion, Minister of Health Dr. Mekdes Daba noted the long-standing partnership with CDC in health system strengthening, HIV/AIDS and malaria programs, and laboratory capacity building. She also thanked the CDC for its support.

She further called for this collaboration to be further strengthened, especially in the areas of strengthening emergency preparedness and response, as well as immunization services and information system modernization.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed the long-standing partnership between the Ministry of Health and the organization. Special attention was paid to the progress made in the areas of disease prevention, surveillance and eradication programs, including the prevention of tropical diseases, Guinea worm disease and other priority health issues.

The Ministry of Health held a forum with the German Embassy, ​​the Robert Koch Institute, and the World Health Organization (WHO) on the initiative and partnership of emergency medical teams.

At the forum, German Ambassador Birgit Ori announced that Ethiopia will host the first international meeting of emergency medical teams, which demonstrates the country’s strong emergency response capacity and its ability to effectively prevent recent outbreaks, including the Marburg virus.