German-African Health Relations and the Need for Change

The author argues that German-African health cooperation is shaped by a colonial legacy and currently prioritizes European security and economic interests over African public health needs. While Germany promotes multilateralism and human rights, the document highlights contradictions in vaccine equity, intellectual property regimes, and the recruitment of African health workers. The author calls for a transition toward a partnership based on solidarity, climate and health justice, and respect for an 'African New Public Health Order'.

• Modern health cooperation between Germany and African countries is heavily influenced by colonial legacies, with technical and scientific cooperation often concentrated in regions Germany formally colonized until World War I.
• There is a divergence between the European Union's 'One Health' priority, which emphasizes biomedical cooperation via public-private partnerships, and the 'African New Public Health Order', which prioritizes the development of public health institutions and workforce leadership.
• The document identifies a tension between economic interests and public health equity regarding vaccine access, noting that African leaders have criticized the reliance on donations over the waiver of TRIPS intellectual property rules.
• The GIZ 'Triple-Win' programme, which facilitates the recruitment of health workers from countries including Nigeria, Tunisia, Vietnam, Kosovo, and the Philippines to Germany, faces questions regarding its long-term sustainability and the actual benefits for the source countries' health systems.
• The BioNTech mRNA vaccine plant in Rwanda is criticized for being a bilateral partnership that operates outside the WHO-governed international mRNA technology transfer hub, raising concerns about intellectual property and long-term public health objectives.
• The author concludes that global health cooperation has shifted from a liberalized development approach (1995-2015) toward a 'global health remediation' where health equity is subjugated to state security, trade, and economic interests.

APA

van de Pas, R. (2023). German-African Health Relations and the Need for Change. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/german-african-health-relations-and-the-need-for-change

Chicago

van de Pas, Remco. German-African Health Relations and the Need for Change. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2023. https://afripoli.org/german-african-health-relations-and-the-need-for-change.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van de Pas |first1=Remco |title=German-African Health Relations and the Need for Change |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=26 May 2023 |url=https://afripoli.org/german-african-health-relations-and-the-need-for-change |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vandepas2023germanafrican, author = {van de Pas, Remco}, title = {{German-African Health Relations and the Need for Change}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://afripoli.org/german-african-health-relations-and-the-need-for-change}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }