Banjul, 21 July 2025: Professor Yap Boum, Deputy Incident Manager, Africa CDC IMST, has said that as the continent battles multiple outbreaks with limited resources, African health leaders are uniting under a new wave of strategic integration, melding surveillance, vaccination, and community engagement into a sharper, more resilient response.
This week, speaking from the heart of the Incident Management Support Team (IMST) operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Professor Yap Boum gave a sweeping update on Africa’s health response architecture, anchored in community resilience, regional partnerships, and a pressing call for more vaccines.
“We have just concluded a key meeting with Ethiopia’s Minister of Health,” Boum began, noting that the country has become a symbol of integration done right. From using polio campaigns to track Mpox, to discharging their last confirmed Mpox case just last week, Ethiopia is demonstrating how layered health efforts can yield impressive results.
Across the continent, 24 countries have now reported Mpox cases, with 81,000 suspected and 26,000 confirmed. While the case fatality rate remains below 1%, over 2,000 deaths, most among suspected cases, highlight the lurking dangers of undiagnosed co-infections like measles, Professor Boum stated.
“We are seeing both decline and danger,” Boum said. “Some countries are turning the tide. Others, like Nigeria, Liberia, Zambia, Kenya, and Guinea, are facing resurgence.”
A Vaccine Drought in the Midst of Progress
“Despite deploying over 3 million doses to 11 countries, we are now out,” Boum stated. “This is a critical setback.”
Still, he emphasized hope. Innovative dosing strategies, like fractional vaccination used in Europe and the U.S., could stretch supply. “With one dose, you could protect three to five people. But we need those doses first.”
Partners from Gavi, UNICEF, and IAVI are rallying, as countries like Sierra Leone await new batches, 50,000 doses are due to arrive imminently. The call now is for urgent international investment, not as charity, but as a smart strategy to avoid losing years of health system progress, He said.
Surveillance, Integration, and Community Power
Boum highlighted that Africa CDC’s revamped approach is rooted in one word and that is integration. Surveillance is no longer a solid task. Community health workers in hotspots go door-to-door, not only searching for cases but also educating, dispelling stigma, and vaccinating.
This model is proving powerful. Sierra Leone’s test positivity rate has dropped from 81% to 60% in just weeks, thanks to this three-pronged strategy of testing, education, and targeted vaccination. Uganda is also seeing a downturn after weeks of rising cases, though urban centres like Kampala remain on high alert.
Meanwhile, in Guinea, concerns grow as Mpox cases expand beyond Conakry. Despite a 100% testing rate, the ratio of identified contacts per case remains low, suggesting undetected community spread, especially via sexual transmission.
Cholera: A Rising Tide Meets Fragile Systems
While Mpox sees hopeful declines in places like DRC, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, cholera is surging again, particularly in Kinshasa and conflict-stricken provinces of eastern DRC, Boum outlined
By Kumba Leigh
