Stories of Impact

Highlighting how collaborative public health action strengthens Africa’s resilience and saves lives across the continent.

Africa CDC Bingwa Plus Initiative
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 ...

Laboratory Systems and Networks
The Road to Secure Biological Sample Transportation in Central Africa

When COVID-19 hit the Central African Republic in 2020, the state’s ability to deliver essential services was limited. Much of the Central African Republic was, and still is, highly inaccessible. Physical access to health facilities was constrained by the lack of roads — whether dirt or paved. Access ...

Medical Supplies and Cold Chain Equipment
Plan for Dashboard Mapping Africa’s Health Supply Chain

A well-functioning supply chain is the backbone of any health system. Yet across Africa, insufficient infrastructure, fragmented logistics, and limited access to real-time data often delay the delivery of essential health products, including vaccines, diagnostics, medicines, nutrition supplies, and emergency ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Home-Based Care: A COVID-19 Era Strategy Helps Fight Mpox

As mpox continues to affect communities across 26 African countries, health officials are turning to familiar strategies to manage the caseload. One such approach, home-based care, is being adapted from the COVID-19 response, offering a practical solution where hospital isolation capacity is ...

Platform for Harmonised African Health Manufacturing (PHAHM)
Solar-Powered Refrigerators Keep Vaccines Safe in Rural Uganda

What began as a massive expansion of cold chain space required to accommodate both COVID-19 vaccines and routine immunisation programmes continues today. Now, it is curbing high levels of vaccine wastage, empowering communities, and enabling Africa – particularly Uganda – to withstand ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Eliminate Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B by 2030

The mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and the hepatitis B virus remains a serious public health threat. Millions globally are living with HIV, with a significant proportion in Africa. Over 91 million Africans are affected by hepatitis, contributing to 1.2 million infections and 125,000 ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Raising a New Cohort of Epidemiologists in West Africa

Graduates sang and clapped as they celebrated reaching a personal milestone. They were embarking on a new journey as the next generation of mental health leaders in West Africa. After nine months of rigorous classroom and field training, fellows from Burkina Faso, ...

Surveillance and Disease Intelligence
Risk-ranking Exercise Approves 25 Priority Diseases in Central Africa to Boost Health Security

Central Africa  has approved 25 priority diseases for targeted prevention, detection, and response in a major step towards stronger epidemic preparedness. Africa CDC in partnership with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) developed the list—covering threats such ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Africa’s New Cholera Plan: Darfur Crisis Shows Why Peace and Multisectoral Action Are Essential

Sudan’s Darfur region is grappling with a deadly cholera outbreak amid a complex humanitarian crisis marked by heavy rains, mass displacement, fragile water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure, along with limited access to healthcare. New figures from the Africa Centres ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Strong Public Engagement in Africa’s Mpox Fight – But Gaps Persist

A year after mpox was declared a continental health threat, Africa’s response has shown encouraging momentum. An interim analysis of a new study by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) reveals strong public engagement, with above-average ...

Emergency Response and Preparedness
Africa Sets Course to Strengthen and Harmonise Health Data Governance

The Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) is set to kick off action towards strengthening and harmonising the framework of policies, procedures, and practices that ensure healthcare data is managed, protected, and used responsibly throughout its lifecycle — health data ...

Surveillance and Disease Intelligence
Malaria Surge in Southern Africa

Malaria is on the rise in southern Africa, with several countries – including Botswana, eSwatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe – reporting new outbreaks, underscoring the ongoing challenges in eradicating the disease in Africa. Data from the Surveillance and Disease Intelligence Division ...