African ministers raise concern over infectious diseases burden
African health ministers have sounded an alarm over the burden of infectious diseases, calling on governments to work closely to address the problem.
The converging in Nairobi stated that out of 630 million years of life lost due to the burden of diseases in 47 countries in Africa, 230 million are due to infectious illnesses.
The ministers and other health experts warned that cholera, a disease that crept into Africa, and has continued to rise, is now at alarming levels, and require urgent measures to forestall its spread.
Somalia Minister of Health and Human Services, Ali Haji Adam Abubakar said that since the beginning of 2024, the number of cholera cases and deaths reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) shows that as of March 31, there were 62,175 and 1,232 deaths, respectively, with a case-fatality ratio of 2.0 percent.
He cautioned that if quick interventions are not mounted this situation, looking at the ever increasing threat of cholera, the disease burden associated with it, is likely to go even higher.
Public health initiatives
“The establishment therefore, and the success of the Eastern Africa RCC to be hosted in Nairobi, is instrumental in our shared mission to advance public health initiatives, improve disease preparedness, and respond efficiently to health emergencies across Eastern Africa,” Abubakar said. He is the current chairman of the Regional Ministerial Steering Committee (ReSCo) for the Africa CDC Eastern Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (Eastern Africa RCC).
Abubakar oversaw the official opening of the two institutions at a Nairobi hotel, which have also been established to spearhead pandemic preparedness. Experts hinted that the next pandemic is likely to come from zoonotic diseases.
Currently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe account for 94.6 percent, about 58, 802 of the total cases and 95.7 percent, an estimated 1, 179 of total deaths from cholera this year.
Collective journey
“The establishment of the Eastern Africa Regional Cholera Taskforce is a significant achievement in our collective journey, emblematic of our capacity to unite in response to regional health challenges. This initiative not only exemplifies our collaborative strength but also reinforces our commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of our communities,” said Abubakar.
Dr Justin Maeda, the Principal Regional Collaborating Centres Coordinator, and head of Planning and Accountability at Africa CDC, said that 630 million years of life are lost in Africa due to the burden of disease.
“If someone is expected to live up to 70 years and lives for 50 years, 20 years short of the expected full expectancy, that’s a loss in years of life, and if one was supposed to live for 70 years of full production and 20 years is lost, then they are deemed to have lived for half their productivity,” said Dr Maeda.
He said this loss also results in Sh324 trillion (US$2.4 trillion) of economic failure that countries in Africa need to address urgently.
“And in view of this, we need to take health as an investment and not a liability.
“We really need to invest on that, and use it as an advocacy to ensure that more funds go to health and support the sector,” he noted, arguing that if the continent doesn’t have a healthy population, a healthy working force, then it has no capacity to drive the development agenda.
However, Dr Maeda observed that Africa has made steady progress over time, emphasising that this needs to be taken to another level by strengthening community health responses.
“Heads of state and government called for a two -million health workforce to be deployed across the continent to ensure that we have enough community health workers,” he said.
