Africa CDC

The country has also discharged its last Ebola patient and entered the 42-day countdown required to declare the outbreak over.

The new Strengthening Public Health Surveillance and Resilient Knowledge for Non-Communicable Diseases in Africa (SPARK-NCD) programme aims to improve disease surveillance, workforce capacity, and integrated care across the continent.

The appointment comes as Africa intensifies efforts to strengthen its response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak while accelerating the development of African-led medicines, vaccines and outbreak-ready innovations.

Unlike previous Ebola epidemics caused by the Zaire strain, the current Bundibugyo outbreak has no licensed vaccine or approved treatment, making research an urgent public health priority.

This decision follows a recommendation from the Pandemic Fund’s Accreditation Panel and positions Africa CDC among a select group of institutions authorised to directly receive, manage, and deploy Pandemic Fund resources.

The initiative focuses on expanding genomic sequencing capacity, improving molecular diagnostics, and enhancing real-time disease surveillance across African health systems.

The financing will also reinforce critical pillars of outbreak control, including disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, infection prevention and control, and cross-border coordination mechanisms.

The plan targets key pillars of outbreak control, including emergency coordination, disease surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, infection prevention and control, and clinical case management.

The leaders also pledged to protect essential services such as education, routine healthcare, cholera control and measles response efforts as countries confront the growing public health threat.

The partnership builds on Africa CDC’s recent efforts to accelerate the deployment of community health workers across the continent through collaborations with regional partners.