Africa Health Brief -

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🧬 Top Story: Progress Made, but Challenges Remain

🦠 1) Fewer Outbreaks, but Continued Vigilance Needed

According to Africa CDC, the continent recorded fewer disease outbreaks in January 2026. This is encouraging news and reflects strengthened surveillance systems and improved rapid response to health crises.

👉 Why it matters: a decline in outbreaks reduces pressure on already fragile health systems and opens the door to more consistent, higher-quality care.

🧪 2) Historic Outbreak Ends: Marburg Virus in Ethiopia

Following a coordinated response, Ethiopia has declared the end of its first-ever Marburg virus outbreak. This potentially deadly hemorrhagic disease caused several cases since November 2025.

📌 Key takeaways:

Early detection, contact tracing, and community awareness campaigns successfully halted transmission.

This highlights the growing capacity of African health systems to manage complex emergencies.

📊 3) Africa Faces a Critical Shortage of Health Workers

A recent Africa CDC report reveals that the continent will need an additional 6.1 million health workers by 2030 to achieve universal health coverage.

💡 Why this is crucial:

Adequate numbers of health professionals are essential for primary care, prevention, vaccination, and outbreak response.

Investing in health workforce training is a cornerstone of sustainable development.

🦠 4) Mpox: Emergency Status Lifted, but the Virus Still Circulates

Africa has officially lifted the public health emergency status for mpox (monkeypox) following a significant decline in cases across the continent.

⚠ Important note: although the immediate threat has decreased, WHO and Africa CDC warn that the virus continues to circulate in several countries, requiring ongoing surveillance.

🧬 5) Cancer Control: Prevention Takes Center Stage

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) study indicates that approximately 40% of cancers could be prevented through appropriate measures such as vaccination, screening, and healthy lifestyles.

📍 Implications for Africa: with an epidemiological transition underway, prevention is becoming a key pillar in reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases.

💸 6) Decline in International Aid: A Risk to Health Systems

Analyses show that cuts in foreign aid could result in up to 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, if funding gaps persist. Countries will need to explore ways to self-finance their health systems.

🔎 What this means in practice: fewer resources for vaccination programs, and for the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and basic health services.

🏥 7) Mali Takes Action Against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

On Friday, February 6, the International Conference Center of Bamako hosted the 26th edition of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. The event was held under the theme:

“Roles and Responsibilities of Authorities and Traditional Leaders in Mali in Addressing the Challenges of Abandoning FGM/Excision.”

According to available data, national prevalence of FGM among women aged 15–49 stands at 89%, while the rate among girls aged 0–14 is 73%, showing a slight decline compared to previous generations.

😢 8) Snakebite Crisis in Nigeria

The tragic death of a young Nigerian artist following a snakebite, highlighting limited access to antivenom, has drawn attention to an underestimated issue: preventable deaths linked to snakebites remain a major challenge.

👉 Public health message: there is an urgent need to strengthen antivenom supply chains, train healthcare workers, and improve community awareness.

🐄 9) Vaccine Innovation in South Africa

In response to a major outbreak among cattle, South Africa has launched its first locally produced vaccination campaign against foot-and-mouth disease, reducing reliance on imports.

🩺 Broader significance: animal health strategies directly support food security and human health.

😢 10) Mozambique: Cholera Vaccination Resumes

After a four-year suspension of preventive campaigns, cholera vaccination has resumed in Mozambique. This restart is part of the global recovery of cholera vaccination programs, which had been interrupted due to vaccine shortages, according to WHO.

WHO, GAVI, and UNICEF announced that an initial allocation of 20 million doses is being deployed, including 3.6 million for Mozambique, 6.1 million for Congo, and 10.3 million for Bangladesh.

🦠 11) Malawi Declares a Second Resurgence of Polio

The government has declared a polio outbreak in Malawi, raising new public health concerns and reviving memories of the 2022 crisis that shook the country.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation confirmed the resurgence of the deadly disease, describing it as a second wave of polio. This follows the detection of poliovirus in the city of Blantyre after laboratory tests on stool samples collected from one of the city’s public toilets confirmed the presence of the virus.

👉 Message: this discovery signals active virus circulation and represents a serious public health threat, particularly to children.

🧬 12) Morocco: Revised Vaccination Strategy for the HPV Vaccine

In response to low public uptake, Morocco’s HPV vaccination strategy will be restructured, as government targets have been difficult to achieve.

📊 13) Eritrea: Moving Toward the Elimination of FGM

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was observed. In light of sustained efforts to eradicate FGM and other harmful practices, the country appears to be on the right path toward eliminating these practices.

🏥 14) Burkina Faso: Second Kidney Transplant Session at CHU Tengandogo

From February 3 to 4, 2026, the Tengandogo University Hospital Center (CHU) carried out its second kidney transplant session in Burkina Faso. Two patients suffering from chronic kidney failure received transplants, marking a major advancement for the national health system.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Robert Kargougou, praised the success of the procedures conducted jointly by Burkinabè and Turkish specialists. According to medical teams, the transplanted kidneys resumed function immediately after transplantation—a clear sign of success.

🐄 15) Senegal: Launch of an Integrative Palliative Care Service in Oncology at Dalal Jamm Hospital

Under the leadership of Professor Sidy Ka, the oncology department of the National Hospital Center undertook a comprehensive reflection on the support of cancer patients. This collective approach, involving all stakeholders in the care pathway, led to the creation of a scientific committee tasked with evaluating and establishing an innovative model of integrative palliative care.

📌 In Summary: Priorities for 2026

✔ Maintain prevention and surveillance efforts

✔ Invest in training millions of healthcare workers

✔ Strengthen health systems amid financial pressures

✔ Promote prevention policies—from cancer to infectious diseases

✔ Optimize regional and continental cooperation in public health

📌 Agenda

📍 Morocco: International HealthTech’26 Congress – The Global Summit of Digital Health

February 10–12, 2026 – Rabat

📍 Burkina Faso: 5th Congress of the Burkinabè Society of Rheumatology

February 11–13, 2026

📍 Algeria: 12th CME Seminar on Digestive Diseases

February 13–14, 2026

📍 Cameroon: 1st International Congress of the Cameroonian Society of Oncology (SCON)

March 25–27, 2026 – Siga Bonjo

📍 Tunisia: 4th World Interdisciplinary Health Congress on Health Research and Education in the MENA Region

April 12–17, 2026

📍 Morocco: Morocco Medical Expo 2026

April 16–19, 2026 – ICEC Casablanca Ain Sebaâ

📍 Morocco: World Congress of Anaesthesiologists (WCA) 2026

April 15–19, 2026 – Marrakech

📌 Elsewhere in the World

Dr. Alberto Breda, a Spanish urologist, removed a kidney tumor from a patient in Beijing—while operating from the Bordeaux Convention Center. A distance of 8,000 km made possible through medical robotics and 5G technology.

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