Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will address US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, urging the United States to end its freeze on foreign aid, which is jeopardizing public health efforts across Africa. Kaseya expressed deep concern over the impact of the aid pause on the fight against diseases such as HIV, mpox, and other preventable diseases, which could result in additional deaths and global health risks.
Kaseya warned that the freeze, alongside reductions in aid from other governments, could lead to 2-4 million preventable deaths annually across the continent. He also pointed out that these diseases pose a direct threat to the US, with the potential for outbreaks to spread and impact global health.
Conflict in regions like eastern Congo is exacerbating the situation, hindering the response to mpox, measles, and cholera outbreaks. Kaseya emphasized the importance of continued funding, as the security crisis in the region has delayed the distribution of critical vaccines, including those for mpox, where millions of doses are stuck due to violence in Goma.
Kaseya called for immediate intervention to prevent a resurgence of deadly diseases, warning that, just like COVID-19, failing to contain outbreaks in Africa could lead to larger pandemics that affect the world. The Africa CDC is currently facing a shortfall of $200 million, part of a larger $1.1 billion gap, as a result of the funding freeze.
Despite the challenges, Kaseya expressed gratitude for the waiver for lifesaving aid and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) but stressed the urgent need for the broader aid freeze to be lifted to ensure effective disease control efforts on the continent.
