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This paper aims at provoking broad-based dialogues and debates on ways and means of securing Africa’s health sovereignty. It argues that health sovereignty is about the realization of specific national constitutional and policy objectives on citizens’ access to and enjoyment of good health, resilient to COVID-19 and related disease pandemics. The paper also emphasizes the urgency of African countries fulfilling their commitments under global and regional declarations on health research. Investing in research, knowledge and innovation is critical to fight and win the war against COVID-19 and other diseases that undermine economic productivity and competitiveness of African countries. There is also a need for venture capitalists to demonstrate bankable ideas emanating from the science academies and funded by National Science Foundations. The base teachings at school level need to significantly invest in the “African philosophy” to create a shift in mind-set from the “grab and own without use mentality that is currently predominant on the continent. The paper recommends that executive, political and science leadership are needed to strengthen national health research and innovation systems through improved evidence-based policy implementation. With these thrusts working effectively together, rather than in silos, will afford the African continent to emerge victoriously in the combat against COVID-19 and other disease burdens.

Background: Assessment of malaria endemicity at different altitudes and transmission intensities, in the era of dwindling vector densities in the highlands, will provide valuable information for malaria control and surveillance. Measurement of serum anti-malarial antibodies is a useful marker of malaria exposure that indicates long-term transmission potential. We studied the serologic evidence of malaria endemicity at two highland sites along a transmission intensity cline. An improved understanding of the micro-geographic variation in malaria exposure in the highland ecosystems will be relevant in planning effective malaria control.Methods: Total IgG levels to Plasmodium falciparum MSP-119were measured in an age-stratified cohort (< 5, 5-14 and ≥ 15 years) in 795 participants from an uphill and valley bottom residents during low and high malaria transmission seasons. Antibody prevalence and level was compared between different localities. Regression analysis was performed to examine the association between antibody prevalence and parasite prevalence. Age-specific MSP-119seroprevalence data was fitted to a simple reversible catalytic model to investigate the relationship between parasite exposure and age.Results: Higher MSP-119seroprevalence and density were observed in the valley residents than in the uphill dwellers. Adults (> 15 years) recorded high and stable immune response in spite of changing seasons. Lower responses were observed in children (≤ 15 years), which, fluctuated with changing seasons particularly in the valley residents. In the uphill population, annual seroconversion rate (SCR) was 8.3% and reversion rate was 3.0%, with seroprevalence reaching a plateau of 73.3% by age of 20. Contrary, in the valley bottom population, the annual SCR was 35.8% and the annual seroreversion rate was 3.5%, and seroprevalence in the population had reached 91.2% by age 10.Conclusion: The study reveals the micro-geographic variation in malaria endemicity in the highland eco-system; this validates the usefulness of sero-epidemiological tools in assessing malaria endemicity in the era of decreasing sensitivity of conventional tools. © 2012 Badu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.