The African Epidemic Fund is now operational on the continent, providing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) with flexible funding to support countries across the continent in outbreak preparedness and response, the agency says.
The fund was formally established after the High-Level Meeting on Domestic Health Financing, a collaborative initiative between Africa CDC, the African Union Commission, and AUDA-NEPAD, and as Africa battles an onslaught of infectious diseases.
The much-anticipated development will be a game-changer, unshackling it from bureaucratic hurdles, and giving the CDC the flexibility to rapidly deploy funds where they are needed most.
This will allow for faster and more efficient outbreak responses, added Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, who described it as a landmark moment in the fight for improved health security on the continent.
“This is the vehicle through which we can receive funding without any limitation, without any bureaucracy, to support African countries in preparing for and responding to outbreaks… We are celebrating that,” he said.
It arrives at a crucial time – as Africa grapples with multiple health crises, including a Marburg outbreak in Tanzania, Ebola in Uganda, and rising cases of cholera and febrile illnesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Additionally, the mpox outbreak remains ongoing, six months after Africa CDC declared it a health emergency of continental concern.
In February, Africa CDC’s Emergency Consultative Group reviewed the situation, recommending that the outbreak status remain in place due to rising case numbers, the emergence of a highly transmissible new variant, and continued vaccine shortages.
Kaseya said the new epidemic fund offers Africa CDC greater autonomy and agility in outbreak response.
“It will be accessible without the need for approval from any AU organ, giving us more autonomy,” he said.
Transparency will be a cornerstone of the fund’s operations: Kaseya affirmed that Africa CDC will manage the fund directly, ensuring strict accountability, while a governing board will oversee its activities, with regular updates provided to AU policy organs.
Most importantly, the fund’s transactions will be publicly accessible, with detailed tracking available to ensure transparency.
“The African Epidemic Fund will be available on the Africa CDC website. We want people to see, in real time, how much funding we receive, how it is being used, and where it is allocated. That’s the level of transparency we are bringing to Africa,” Kaseya added.
The need for such a fund has become urgent, as Africa has witnessed a sharp increase in public health events, from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024. This surge highlights the growing vulnerability of African nations to health threats.
Simultaneously, the challenges around the mpox outbreak have worsened since the suspension of US government aid, which disrupted key outbreak control efforts like sample collection and shipment.
These disruptions emphasise the need for Africa to develop self-sustaining funding mechanisms to address ongoing and future health crises.
Currently, efforts to combat mpox are entering a critical phase, and the new fund is expected provide desperately needed resources to contain the outbreak. Dr Ngashi Ngongo, Head of the Mpox Incident Support Team at Africa CDC, described this as the “intensification phase”.
“In the next three months, we will focus on getting the outbreak under control, while the final three months of this plan will shift towards early recovery and resilience-building,” he said.
The immediate steps in epidemic control will focus on strengthening surveillance systems, scaling up vaccination campaigns, and enhancing community-based interventions to break transmission chains.
Africa CDC, in collaboration with the WHO and other partners, will continue supporting affected countries by mobilising resources, expanding laboratory capacity, and accelerating vaccination efforts to curb the spread of mpox and other health threats.
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Africa needs to strengthen readiness for public health threats
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