Ababa, Jan 18, 2025, IANS

Ababa, Jan 18 (IANS) The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has raised alarm over a sharp rise in public health emergencies across the continent, with more than 200 disease outbreaks reported last year. Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, addressing an online briefing on Thursday about the multi-country mpox outbreak and other health crises, stressed the urgent need for concerted efforts to combat mounting public health emergencies, Xinhua news agency reported. "We see that the number of disease outbreaks in 2024 was more than in 2023... In 2024, we had 213 events, while in 2023, we had 166. We hope that this year will be different from the last year," Kaseya said. The Africa CDC chief identified cholera, measles, dengue, mpox, and diphtheria as the top five high-burden diseases in Africa for 2024. Cholera was "the first killer in Africa," as the African continent reported some 204,115 cholera cases and 3,747 deaths last year. Measles followed closely, with 234,320 cases and 3,220 deaths in 2024. Mpox ranked third in fatalities among the five high-burden diseases, with 21 African countries reporting 77,888 cases and 1,321 deaths since the start of 2024, according to data from the African Union's specialised healthcare agency. Kaseya highlighted the pressing need for Africa to address public health emergencies more effectively, citing the compounded effects of climate change, urbanisation, and other contributing factors. The Africa CDC chief also called for significant investment in laboratory infrastructure, critical public health facilities, and local vaccine and medical equipment production. He emphasised the need to boost the continent's public health workforce, improve genomic sequencing for priority diseases, and bolster national public health institutes to enhance their role in managing health emergencies. "We are following what is happening in Africa in terms of diseases, and we know exactly what is happening, when, and where so that we can respond by supporting our members," Kaseya said.