Get to Know ECSA-HC
The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC)—the former commonwealth secretariat—is a sub-regional intergovernmental health organization comprised of nine member states (Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Kingdom of Eswatini, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and has worked many other countries within and beyond the region. ECSA-HC serves as a platform for debate, agenda-setting and evidence-to-policy translation. The jubilee in June and the commemorative video herein embedded mark 50 years of regional cooperation for health and a time to reflect on the past.
Beginning in 1996, ECSA-HC shifted from ad hoc planning to developing strategic plans. To address the gap between evidence and policy, it launched in 2007 its flagship event, the annual Best Practices Forum (BPF), a scientific conference that informs recommendations debated by the Directors Joint Consultative Committee (DJCC), a cohort of member-state technical experts from government and universities. The DJCC sets the stage for the follow-on Health Ministers Conference (HMC), where ministers consider recommendations put forth from the aforementioned discussions. Considered and passed during the HMC, regional resolutions are the ignition for influencing national policy and accountability within member states and invite a broader network of stakeholders to work together toward realization of the resolution objectives.
ECSA-HC’s mission has remained the same since its inception—a commitment to enabling regional corporation in health among member states. Human resources for health have remained a top priority, which has given way to the first college in 1990, the ECSA College of Nursing (ECSACON), followed by nine others that are housed under the College of Health Science, established in 2014[EP1] .
| Nine ECSA Colleges | Two New Colleges Pending |
| – College of Anesthesiologists of ECSA – The College of Surgeons of ECSA – ECSA College of Obstetrics and Gynecology – ECSA College of Nursing and Midwifery – ECSA College of Oncologists – ECSA College of Physicians – College of Pathologists of ECSA – College of Ophthalmology of ECSA – ECSA College of Pediatrics and Child Health | – ECSA College of Public Health Physicians – ECSA College of Family Physicians |
The ECSA secretariat supports a number of initiatives through their eight clusters or primary areas of focus: (1) family health, (2) infectious diseases, (3) non-communicable diseases, (4) food security and nutrition, (5) human resource capacity development, (6) health systems strengthening, (7) knowledge management, and (8) monitoring and evaluation. New momentum is also behind ECSA-HC’s system of colleges, with health ministers passing in June a resolution that approves the establishment of the ECSA College of Public Health Physicians and the ECSA College of Family Physicians. This is part of an overarching goal to build skilled human resources for proposed universal health coverage for the region.
