Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA (EI) — The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned warned over the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on public health in Africa, with particular concern linked to the disruptions on essential public health supplies.
During an online media briefing on Thursday evening, Yap Boum II, deputy incident manager at the Africa CDC, said the ongoing global supply chain disruption as a result of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East is causing challenges on public health in Africa.
“The impact of the global crisis in Africa’s health sector can be manifested by one example, but a critical one. Condom prices have gone up by 30 percent or more. You can imagine the impact this has on our community as the use of condoms might reduce, exposing our population to various sexually transmissible infections,” Boum said.
Meanwhile, the African Union’s specialized healthcare agency disclosed that the African continent has recorded 95 moderate-to-high risk public health emergencies so far in 2026, including a new pertussis outbreak in Cameroon and a high-risk undiagnosed illness cluster in Burundi requiring continued vigilance.
The top five reported disease outbreaks in Africa, namely cholera, measles, mpox, lassa fever, and diphtheria, have claimed a combined total of over 1,500 lives over the past four months of 2026, according to the agency.
The Africa CDC said cholera remains the leading public health concern in Africa in terms of the number of fatalities.
Some 15 cholera-affected African countries have reported a total of 35,048 cases and over 750 associated deaths since the beginning of this year, with a case fatality rate of 2.1 percent.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) witnessed the highest number of casualties from cholera during the reported period, with 21,246 cases and 611 deaths.
Inadequate clean and safe water is identified as the primary driver of recurring cholera outbreaks in Africa, which is further exacerbated by peace and security challenges, as well as strained health systems as the continent grapples with a number of disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.
Since the beginning of 2026, the continent has also recorded 549 deaths due to measles outbreaks that affected 21 African countries, with 72,544 total cases, it was noted.
On the positive note, the Africa CDC highlighted a significant decrease in mpox cases and fatalities, as the continent recorded a total of 18,424 suspected cases and 17 associated deaths so far in 2026.
For comparison, Africa had recorded 47,924 suspected mpox cases and 111 related deaths during the same period last year, according to the agency.
