Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 31 January 2025 – Africa is facing an unprecedented convergence of crises that threaten to undo decades of progress in health security. The number of health emergencies in Africa surged from 153 outbreaks in 2022-2023 to 242 in 2024, raising the risk of another pandemic emerging from the continent. Meanwhile, a shifting global landscape has seen many wealthy nations turning inward, reducing development assistance to prioritize domestic needs, including the announced 90-day pause in U.S. foreign aid.
The repercussions are dire. Africa CDC projections warn that without urgent intervention, these financial constraints could reverse health gains, pushing morbidity and mortality rates back to early 2000s levels. An estimated 2 to 4 million additional deaths per year from preventable and treatable diseases could occur. This human toll translates into massive economic losses, costing Africa billions annually and pushing an estimated 39 million more people into poverty. This is not just an African crisis—it is a global crisis in the making.
Africa CDC has not remained silent. Upon learning of the U.S. funding pause, we immediately engaged the administration. Our Director General, H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, took this message to global platforms, including CNN, advocating for a waiver for life-saving humanitarian assistance. Our intervention secured the waiver, ensuring critical interventions continue. But this is only one battle. This moment must serve as a wake-up call for African leaders to implement innovative financing mechanisms and increase domestic investment in public health.
While Africa is working to protect its people, peace remains the missing ingredient. Nowhere is this more evident than in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is not just a security issue—it is a major public health emergency. Goma, a city of three million, including one million displaced individuals, has one of the highest population densities in the world—39,620 people per square kilometer—lacking adequate health infrastructure and basic services like water, sanitation, and hygiene. These extreme conditions, combined with insecurity and mass displacement, have fueled the mutation of the Mpox virus, generating the deadly Clade 1b variant in 2023. This strain has already killed thousands of children and young people and is highly sexually transmissible. Goma became the epicenter, spreading Mpox across 21 African countries, including SADC and EAC states. These same conditions have fueled widespread Measles and Cholera outbreaks, claiming thousands of lives.
Africa CDC has worked tirelessly to secure Mpox vaccines and essential health commodities for Goma and eastern DRC. But without peace and security, these supplies cannot reach the children and mothers who need them most.
“I am ready to fly there myself to ensure these life-saving interventions are delivered—but we need safe access,” said H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC. “To my fellow African leaders: End this unnecessary war. If you fail to act, it will not be bullets that kill us—it will be major outbreaks and pandemics emerging from this region, sparing no one while devastating economies and businesses. Our collective survival depends on urgent and decisive action. Let us end this war. Let us choose peace. Let us choose life.”
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About Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a public health agency of the African Union. It is autonomous and supports member states in strengthening health systems. It also helps improve disease surveillance, emergency response, and disease control. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
Media Contacts: Margaret Edwin | Director of Communication and Public Information | Africa CDC EdwinM@africacdc.org
