The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned of surge in outbreaks of cholera, Mpox, Marburg across the continent.
The centre also warned of threat surge in other public health driven by fragile water systems, poor sanitation, and funding gaps.
Prof. Yap Boum, Incident Manager for Health Emergencies at Africa CDC, gave the warning on Thursday during the continent’s virtual weekly press briefing.
Boum said that since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Africa had been pushing the new Africa health security and sovereignty agenda.
He announced that The Lancet had published the Africa Health Security and Sovereignty Agenda, marking a shift from the earlier new public health order.
According to him, the new strategy is built on five pillars of a more inclusive continental health architecture.
“These pillars are prevention, preparedness and emergency response, digital transformation, local manufacturing of health products; and domestic, innovative and blended health financing.”
He said Africa could not achieve universal health coverage or pandemic preparedness without the ability to finance, produce, and govern its own health systems and countermeasures.
He also warned that the Antimicrobial Resistant (AMR) was already causing more than 27 deaths per 100,000 people in Africa, with the real toll likely far higher.
According to him, this is even as the world marks the AMR week.
“Only 1.3 per cent of laboratories in the continent have bacteriology capacity; meaning most antibiotics are prescribed without laboratory confirmation, driving misuse and resistance.”
Boum added that the Mpox cases continued to decline continent-wide, noting that Ghana, Kenya, Liberia and Guinea remained areas of concern.
“Ghana has shown steady improvement over the past three weeks, with 72 per cent of cases concentrated in Greater Accra and Western Region, where surveillance, RCC interventions and vaccination efforts are being intensified.
“Ghana’s 25 per cent test positivity rate indicates active case-finding and tracing.
“Vaccination rollout continues with nearly one million doses delivered across 16 countries, and 80 per cent of countries having used more than half of their vaccine stocks.
“Liberia will receive 20,000 doses next week, while Kenya is scheduled to receive another consignment on Dec. 10,” he said
The Africa CDC incident manager, further said that cholera remained Africa’s most urgent outbreak, with three times more cases and deaths than recorded three years ago.
According to him, South Sudan, DRC, Angola and Nigeria now account for 90 per cent of all cholera cases in the continent.
Giving country-by-country highlights, he said Angola had 152 affected municipalities, a case fatality rate of 2.6 per cent, and a reduction in weekly cases from 606 to 500.
He noted that 44 per cent of Angola’s population still lacked access to safe drinking water, prompting Africa CDC to warn that stable water and sanitation investments were urgently needed.
He said that in the DRC, the country had reported 7,000 cases in just six weeks in spite of a downward trend, making it one of the highest cholera burdens on the continent.
He added that Burundi, continued to record a very low case fatality rate of 0.4 per cent, with cases declining, although fragile water systems posed a major risk.
“Kenya is battling both mpox and cholera, with a case fatality rate of about four per cent, above acceptable thresholds, while hotspots remain Narok, Migori and peri-urban areas of Nairobi.
“Ongoing interventions include WASH support, clinical training and water distribution.
“Cameroon has also reported new cholera cases in the Far North region bordering Nigeria, where difficult terrain is complicating access, though authorities have activated rapid response systems.
“Ethiopia continues to respond to an outbreak of marburg virus disease in Jinka, South Ethiopia, where four cases have been confirmed and three deaths recorded, a 75 per cent fatality rate
“Rapid response teams are deployed, and Africa CDC is supporting surveillance and cross-border preparedness in Kenya and South Sudan,” he revealed.
