AFRICA records more than 200 health emergencies annually, prompting intensified efforts to strengthen prevention, preparedness and rapid response systems across the continent, an official has said.
The growing frequency and complexity of outbreaks — ranging from cholera and climate-related disasters to emerging infectious diseases — have exposed gaps in national health systems and underscored the urgent need for stronger continental coordination and local manufacturing capacity.
Speaking at the official opening of the African Volunteers Health Corps induction capacity-building workshop for the southern Africa region in Harare yesterday, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention head of emergency preparedness and response Wessam Mankoula said volunteers must be ready to provide external support when outbreaks overwhelmed national capacity.
He said one key lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of building resilient national and continental systems.
“Everyone was busy with his own problems outside of the continent. We need to build the national capacity so we have a strong system able to respond quickly and efficiently to various emergencies and we also need to strengthen collaboration and coordination between our member States,” Mankoula said.
He said when an emergency exceeded a country’s capacity, African solidarity came into play, with neighbouring States and continental institutions stepping in.
“We have support from neighbouring countries, we have continental organisations like Africa CDC able to mobilise resources quickly to support the country to respond to various emergencies,” he said.
Mankoula stressed the need to strengthen local manufacturing capacity, not only for vaccines but also for therapeutics and diagnostics.
In his address, Health and Child Care minister Douglas Mombeshora said Africa continued to witness an increasing frequency and complexity of public health emergencies, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
“We have faced recurrent cholera outbreaks that have afflicted our communities, climate-related disasters that have displaced families and disrupted essential services, cross-border disease transmission that tests the resilience of our surveillance systems and shocks that strain already burdened health infrastructures,” he said.
“These realities demand coordinated, rapid and technically-sound action, not fragmented or delayed responses.”
Mombeshora said the induction workshop represented more than a training programme — it signified readiness translated to action.
“Effective emergency response requires more than clear technical knowledge alone. It demands understanding of emergency co-ordination structures, incident management systems, logistics and supply chain procedures, risk communication protocols, ethics,
safety and security considerations,” he said.
Mombeshora added that the continent was building end-to-end capacity — from early detection to decisive response — led and sustained by African institutions.
“We affirm that the protection of our people's health is not only a technical priority, but a core pillar of our development, our stability and our dignity,” he said.
“Equally important is the spirit of regional solidarity that underpins this gathering. The pathogens we confront do not respect borders. An outbreak in one country can quickly become a regional concern.”
By bringing together about 75 public health professionals from across southern Africa, the workshop
aims to strengthen regional health security.
The African Volunteers Health Corps is designed to bolster surge capacity across member States by rapidly mobilising trained health professionals to support countries during public health emergencies and humanitarian crises.