Addis Ababa, January 18 (IANS). The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has expressed concern over the health emergency across the continent. Last year the continent was hit by more than 200 diseases.
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya held an online briefing on the Mpox outbreak and other health crises, Xinhua news agency reported. He said that there is a need to take immediate concrete steps to deal with the rapidly increasing public emergency.
Kaseya said, “The number of diseases in 2024 was 213, which is more than in 2023. Whereas in 2023 the number was 166.”
He expressed hope that 2025 will be better than last year.
Africa CDC chief reveals top five diseases of 2024. According to him, cholera, measles, dengue, mumps and diphtheria are the five diseases which troubled this continent a lot.
Cholera is considered the leading cause of death in Africa. The African continent reported about 204,115 cholera cases last year, leading to 3,747 deaths. There were 234,320 cases of measles in 2024, with 3,220 deaths.
According to data from the African Union’s specialized health services agency, 77,888 cases of mpox were reported in 21 African countries by early 2024, resulting in 1,321 deaths.
Kaseya stressed on giving importance to public health emergencies, citing climate change, urbanization and other things.
The Africa CDC chief also called for significant investment in laboratory infrastructure, critical public health facilities, and local vaccine and medical device production. He stressed the need to boost the continent’s public health workforce and improve genomic sequencing for priority diseases.
“We are keeping a close eye on the diseases in Africa,” Kaseya said.
–IANS
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