Stakeholders within the healthcare sector face a challenge: to embrace harm reduction as a fundamental principle in shaping public health strategies across Africa. Harm reduction involves initiatives designed to mitigate the adverse consequences of certain health behaviors without necessarily eradicating these behaviors completely or permanently.

Speaking during the third annual Harm Reduction Exchange themed: ‘Amplifying the voice of Harm Reduction advocacy across Africa’, the President of the African Medical Association and the Association of Medical Councils of Africa, Dr. Kgosi Letlape tasked African governments to adopt harm reduction approaches when regulating public health challenges.