Africa CDC calls for self-reliance as Africa faces surging health emergencies

6/4/2025 6:17

As Africa faces an "unprecedented surge" in public health emergencies, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has called on African countries to strengthen domestic financing mechanisms to address emerging and existing public health challenges.



The Africa CDC made the call in two latest reports -- Africa CDC Annual Report 2024 and Africa's Health Financing in a New Era Report, both released Thursday. Highlighting the agency's strides in promoting disease control and health security across Africa, the two reports list challenges that risk reversing the continent's decades of progress in public health.



Data from the African Union's specialized healthcare agency show that the continent, over the past 24 months, has witnessed an "unprecedented surge in public health emergencies," rising by about 41 percent -- from 152 disease outbreaks in 2022 to 213 in 2024. It said the surge in disease outbreaks has placed "immense pressure on already fragile health systems, exposing deep-seated vulnerabilities and severely weakening the continent's capacity for timely and effective response."