West Africa Moves To End Reactive Responses To DISEASE Outbreaks

Member states of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in the West African region have gathered in Abuja to address persistent gaps in outbreak response and to develop a more unified and adequately financed public health emergency preparedness plan for 2026.

At the opening of the four-day West Africa Regional Review and Coordination Meeting, convened by the Africa CDC, its regional director for West Africa, Dr Alinon Kokou, said the region could no longer afford the fragmented and last-minute approach that has defined responses to outbreaks such as Ebola, COVID-19, yellow fever and Lassa fever.

“This week is about preparing before emergencies strike. We are shaping the priorities for West Africa in 2026, sharing best practices, and aligning our systems so that our response is not reactive but coordinated and timely,” Kokou said.

Kokou, marking one year in office, said the Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC) has already visited 14 of the 15 ECOWAS countries, with plans to complete the final visit to Guinea-Bissau when conditions allow.

“In every country, we saw commitment, but the gaps are still clear. This region has suffered too much from slow responses. This meeting is a chance to change that,” he said.

Nigeria, he noted, has played a central role. “We appreciate the support from Ministers Pate and Salako. Nigeria is hosting the RCC, and its leadership has strengthened everything we are achieving at the regional level,” he said.

Three countries, Nigeria, Liberia and The Gambia, have now been designated Centres of Excellence and will lead presentations to guide others, he said.

UNFPA Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Muriel Mafico, said West Africa continues to lose lives and resources simply because it refuses to prioritise preparedness.

“Every time there is an outbreak, we see countries rushing for urgent response as if the problem is new. Preparedness costs less. Preparedness saves lives. Preparedness ensures we are not scrambling when emergencies come,” she said.

She called for stronger domestic financing, saying reliance on external donors is no longer sustainable.

“Leadership is important, collaboration is important, but without financing, preparedness remains a slogan. Every country must set aside resources, equipment, supplies, and trained responders before emergencies strike,” she said.

UNFPA also emphasised data-driven planning, insisting that countries must use accurate information to allocate resources and strengthen systems.

The Permanent Secretary of The Gambia’s Ministry of Health, Dr Yusupha Touray, said the region’s history shows that cooperation works, and lack of cooperation kills.

“During suspected Ebola and yellow fever cases, our partnership with Senegal helped us contain threats immediately. But not every country has such strong cross-border coordination,” he said.

Touray said that West Africa’s failure to secure vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic should serve as a painful lesson.

“Africa has some of the best brains, but we suffered when vaccines were needed. We must strengthen surveillance, manufacturing and collaboration. Countries like Ghana and Senegal are already doing well in vaccine production; others must learn from them,” he said.

The Africa CDC has disclosed that all 15 EOCs in the region are now digitally connected, and work is underway with the WHO and ECOWAS to develop a West Africa Emergency Preparedness and Response Framework, a single, coordinated mechanism for outbreak action.

From cholera to meningitis, Lassa fever to cross-border viral outbreaks, West Africa remains one of the world’s hotspots for recurrent health emergencies.

The Abuja meeting brought together heads of National Public Health Institutes, Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs), laboratory leaders, governance directors and partners, marking a “turning point” for regional health security.