Eswatini Strengthens Epidemic Intelligence with New Event-Based Surveillance Guidelines
As the world continues to grapple with emerging and re-emerging health threats, the Kingdom of Eswatini has taken a decisive step towards strengthening its epidemic intelligence systems with the launch of its National Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) Guidelines. The new framework, developed by the Ministry of Health with support from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and […]
Rift Valley Fever Makes a Comeback in Senegal and Mauritania
It may have begun with the virus becoming active in the local mosquito population, prompted by heavy rains followed by warm weather — ideal conditions for the mosquitoes responsible for spreading the virus. Already present in the region, Rift Valley Fever (RVF) has now been confirmed in Senegal and Mauritania — two West African countries that share […]
Africa CDC and Kenya Agree to Strengthen Strategic Partnership on the New Public Health Order
Kenya’s Ministry of Health and the Africa CDC Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (EARCC) have agreed to expedite the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) within the next two months. Priority actions include finalising the MoU, developing a joint workplan and performance framework, operationalising the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), and conducting regional simulation exercises. The agreement, reached following a high-level strategic meeting in Naivasha […]
Mpox Spurs Scientific Revival of Traditional African Medicine
For centuries, African communities have turned to traditional medicine to treat everything from fevers to infections. Yet, despite serving as the first line of health care for millions, these remedies rarely make it into formal medical systems. Lacking standardised processes, clinical trials, and regulatory oversight, most traditional medicines remain confined to informal use, their potential largely unrealised. Often […]
Health Emergency Leaders Network for Africa and Eastern Mediterranean Launched
Africa and Eastern Mediterranean regions’ top health leaders have joined forces to provide resources and expertise to improve health emergency response. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), together with the Kingdom of Morocco, launched the Health Emergency Leaders Network in Rabat, Morocco, in September. The Network brings together, for the first time, health leaders from the […]
New Mpox Vaccine Study to Launch in DRC
Amid the ongoing mpox outbreak, new research is due to launch in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide important real-world data on the performance of the LC16m8 mpox vaccine in African populations. LC16m8 — a third-generation smallpox vaccine that is also used for mpox — is a live-attenuated vaccine produced by the Japanese manufacturer KM Biologics, a Meiji Group company. The vaccine has […]
Successful Due Diligence Assessment Opens Door for UK’s Direct Funding
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is now eligible for direct funding from the United Kingdom, following nearly one year of rigorous due diligence assessment. “We warmly welcome the United Kingdom’s decision as a trusted and longstanding partner of Africa. This milestone is not only a recognition of the extensive reforms we have undertaken, but […]
Community Partnership in Health Response Cemented
At sunrise in Luweero District in Uganda, Israel Katumba, a Community Health Extension Worker, sets off on his bicycle. He carries a blood pressure machine, referral forms, and a tablet that links him to the Ministry of Health’s electronic reporting system. For the families he visits, he is more than a health worker — he is a neighbour they […]
Turning Data into Domestic Investment for Africa’s Community Health Workforce
Africa now knows its community health workforce better than before. There are approximately seven community health workers per 10,000 people — equivalent to one community health worker for every 1,235 individuals. Around 80% of countries surveyed have a national community health strategy, and 63% — two-thirds — recognise community health workers as an integral part […]
Getting Youth a Space at the Table in Global Health Governance
A few students at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in March 2020 pitched the idea of the International Working Group for Health System Strengthening (IWGHSS) as part of a competition.Their idea was chosen as the best in the competition, and later, connections were made with other World Health Organization (WHO) regions and institutions. Today, the IWGHSS, a youth-led global network […]