The World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), together with the Kingdom of Morocco, today opened a landmark meeting in Rabat to launch the Health Emergency Leaders Network for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. This network is the first of its kind, bringing together deputy ministers and senior health emergency leaders from Ministries of Health in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, alongside international partners to forge stronger regional defences that also reinforce global health security.