ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned over the escalating public health emergencies across Africa, as the continent currently experiences an average of three new disease outbreaks each week.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, addressing a media briefing on the multi-country mpox outbreak in Africa and other health emergencies on Thursday, said Africa, which has long been suffering from various disease outbreaks, is in urgent need to combat public health emergencies.
"We are seeing an increase in terms of (disease) outbreaks in Africa. We are moving from almost two new outbreaks per week (on average) to three new outbreaks per week," Kaseya said, adding that the African continent reported 167 outbreaks in 42 African Union (AU) member states last year.
He said the top five most reported outbreaks in Africa are mpox, cholera, dengue, measles, and the Lassa fever. "These outbreaks contribute to 77 percent of all cases and 81.4 percent of deaths in Africa," he said.
Data from the AU's specialized healthcare agency show that at least 16 countries across all five regions of Africa have been affected by mpox. It said some 38,465 mpox cases and 1,456 deaths have been reported in Africa since January 2022, including 887 cases and five deaths during the last week.
The Africa CDC, in its epidemic intelligence report published last week, also said since the beginning of this year, a total of 128,374 cholera cases and related 1,943 deaths have been reported from 16 member states, with a case fatality rate of 1.51 percent.
With regard to mpox, which is currently the most pressing continental public health challenge in Africa, Kaseya highlighted the possibility of declaring a public health emergency of continental security soon.
"The declaration of (mpox as) a public health emergency of continental security is critical and, maybe, next week we will declare that," said Kaseya.
The declaration will contribute to a greater mobilization of resources while also strengthening the international notification mechanism as the declaration will obligate AU member states to notify the Africa CDC of any health measures implemented in response to the emergency.
"When we declare a public health emergency of continental security, we are increasing funding, domestic resources and partners' resources, to support (efforts against) the outbreak," he said. ■