The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that persistent funding gaps, weak health financing, and limited local vaccine manufacturing capacity are undermining Africa’s ability to respond effectively to disease outbreaks.
The warning was issued on Friday by Prof. Yap Boum II, Deputy Incident Manager for Mpox at the Africa CDC Incident Management Support Team (IMST), during the agency’s weekly high-level regional press briefing.
Boum II said Mpox outbreaks remain active in several African countries, stressing that while vaccines are becoming increasingly available, many nations lack the financial capacity to deploy them effectively.
“We now have vaccines, but in many settings, we do not have the funds to deliver them to the people who need them most,” he said.
According to him, logistical and operational funding challenges have significantly affected vaccine delivery, particularly in island nations such as Comoros and Madagascar, where transportation and supply chain costs are high.
He emphasised the urgent need for local vaccine manufacturing, noting that Africa would require an estimated 55 million doses of cholera vaccines to adequately control outbreaks across the continent.
Boum II also raised concern over the state of health financing in Africa, revealing that only seven countries have met the Abuja Declaration target of allocating at least 15 percent of national budgets to health.
“Twenty-five years after the Abuja Declaration, most African countries are still underfunding health, and this continues to weaken outbreak preparedness and response,” he said.
He added that Africa CDC was promoting pooled procurement mechanisms, stronger pandemic preparedness systems, and regional coordination to reduce costs and protect countries from global supply shocks during health emergencies.
Boum II urged African governments and development partners to prioritise sustainable health financing and invest in local manufacturing capacity to strengthen the continent’s health security and outbreak response.
Visit GMTNewsng for more news stories.
