The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is the African Union’s public health agency, mandated to support member states in strengthening health systems, improving disease surveillance, and enhancing emergency response across the continent. Beyond managing outbreaks, the agency plays a central role in building long-term health system resilience through laboratory strengthening, workforce development, data sharing, and coordinated public health action during emergencies.
Building on this mandate, Africa CDC has launched a new continental health security drive aimed at transforming Africa’s preparedness for health emergencies while redefining its role in global health governance. Backed by African leaders, the initiative signals a strategic shift towards a more self-reliant, coordinated, and resilient health system across the continent.
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The strategy is designed to transition Africa from reactive outbreak responses to a proactive health security model, where prevention, early detection, and rapid response are fully integrated across national and regional systems. It also seeks to secure greater representation for Africa in global health institutions, reflecting the continent’s population size, disease burden, and contributions to global health security.
The initiative is anchored on five interconnected pillars.
The first pillar focuses on reforming the global health architecture. Africa CDC is advocating for stronger African representation in international health governance systems, with the aim of securing more equitable decision-making roles and reducing reliance on external systems for emergency response and funding.
The second pillar centres on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response. This includes strengthening surveillance systems, improving early warning mechanisms, and enhancing cross-border coordination to ensure faster detection and containment of disease outbreaks.
The third pillar addresses sustainable health financing. It seeks to reduce Africa’s long-standing dependence on external donor funding by increasing domestic investment, introducing innovative financing mechanisms, and ensuring long-term financial stability for health programmes.
The fourth pillar prioritises local manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics, and medical supplies. Lessons from the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the continent’s vulnerability due to limited production capacity and reliance on global supply chains. Expanding regional manufacturing is expected to improve access, affordability, and supply security.
The fifth pillar focuses on equitable global health governance and coordinated financing, ensuring that international funding and partnerships align more closely with Africa’s priorities and development needs. It also aims to strengthen the continent’s influence in global health decision-making processes.
Collectively, these pillars reflect a broader ambition to align Africa’s decision-making power with its health needs and contributions, while reducing structural dependence on external systems.
Recent public health developments across the continent have reinforced the urgency of this initiative. Africa continues to face recurring outbreaks of cholera, mpox, and Ebola in parts of Central and West Africa, alongside other infectious diseases. These challenges are often intensified by climate change, population growth, and gaps in health infrastructure.
In response, Africa CDC is expanding regional disease surveillance networks, strengthening national public health institutions, and improving coordination among member states during health emergencies. These measures are intended to ensure faster detection and more effective responses at both national and continental levels.
The agency also collaborates closely with global partners such as the World Health Organisation to align continental and international health strategies, while continuing to advocate for reforms that amplify Africa’s voice in global health governance.
Despite these efforts, significant constraints remain. Funding gaps, uneven health system capacity across countries, shortages of skilled health professionals, and limited laboratory infrastructure continue to affect preparedness levels in several regions.
However, the launch of this continental health security drive represents a defining moment in Africa’s public health trajectory. It signals a transition from fragmented and externally dependent systems to a more integrated and self-sustaining health framework.
Ultimately, the initiative goes beyond improving outbreak response. It is about reshaping Africa’s health security architecture, strengthening its role in global health governance, and building a more resilient future for the continent.
