The main public health organization in Africa is using the inaugural Health Day at Cop on December 3rd to urge for more financial support in tackling the effects of the climate emergency on the continent’s health, and to establish stronger systems to be ready for future pandemics.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) initiated the second stage of its three-year, $1.5 billion Saving Lives and Livelihoods campaign this week. However, Dr Jean Kaseya, the director general, stated that due to various disease outbreaks and the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, along with recovering from Covid, additional financial aid is crucial.
Kaseya stated that Africa is making efforts to secure funding for addressing these problems, but they require additional funds from sources like the World Bank pandemic fund, US aid fund Pepfar, and the Global Fund.
“From January to November 2023, Africa experienced 158 instances of disease outbreaks. These occurred shortly after the Covid pandemic, which severely impacted economies. As a result, countries now have to address these new outbreaks.”
According to him, the primary cause of the issue is the climate crisis, which has also resulted in a recent increase in cholera cases. “Currently, there are 18 countries experiencing cholera outbreaks, resulting in 4,000 deaths. Additionally, there have been fatalities in West Africa due to dengue.”
The speaker emphasized the importance of a strong healthcare system in Africa to effectively handle any disease outbreak. They expressed concern that neglecting even a single outbreak could lead to a global pandemic, and emphasized the urgency in preventing Africa from being the source of the next pandemic due to climate change. As a result, they are advocating for increased funding in this area.
According to Kaseya, the Ebola outbreak from 2013 to 2016 and the current Covid pandemic have exposed Africa’s vulnerability in terms of healthcare. This has emphasized the importance of having African-based producers of vaccines and medications. During his speech at the Conference on Public Health in Africa, held in Lusaka, Zambia, Kaseya compared this push for local manufacturing to a “second independence” for Africa.
During our experience with Covid, we realized that Africa was neglected and dependent. We witnessed the need for assistance from the rest of the world, even for basic supplies like masks and gloves.
Just 1% of vaccines utilized in Africa are sourced from within the continent. The objective of Africa CDC is to have at least 60% of vaccines used in Africa to be domestically produced by 2040.
Kaseya stated that local manufacturing will stimulate our economy, generate employment, foster innovation, and promote peace and security. This is because job opportunities and access to various goods can reduce conflict among individuals.
Africa CDC is providing assistance to a campaign aimed at educating numerous new healthcare professionals to address shortages in knowledge and skills. Kaseya stated that only a small percentage of African countries have the capacity to effectively handle a large outbreak due to a shortage in trained healthcare workers. In order to meet the needs of the continent, 6,000 field epidemiologists and 25,000 frontline epidemiologists are required, but currently only 1,900 and 5,000 are available, respectively.
Governments around the world are being urged to support Africa CDC’s goal of creating a strong and resilient healthcare system across the continent. However, there is a significant difference in budget allocations between countries, and the impact of Covid and the climate emergency has negatively affected economies.
Kaseya stated that her message to Cop28 is to give Africa a voice and listen to their evidence of how climate change is impacting them. She emphasized the significant economic impact of climate change on Africa, with an annual loss of 5 to 15% in GDP, resulting in insufficient funds for healthcare.
Source: theguardian.com
