African Health Leaders Unite For New Push to Eliminate Multiple Diseases

Progress against neglected tropical diseases provides some of the clearest evidence of what sustained public health action can achieve.

African health ministers, development partners and leaders of continental and regional health institutions have renewed their commitment to eliminating multiple diseases, placing stronger national leadership, local health investment and resilient health systems at the centre of the continent's next phase of progress. The agreement was reached during a high-level ministerial event held alongside the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, where participants endorsed the Addis Ababa Call to Action on Protecting and Accelerating Multi-Disease Elimination in Africa.

The new commitment comes as African countries record major public health victories against diseases that have affected communities for generations, while financial pressure, gaps in diagnostics, insecurity and fragmented health programmes threaten to slow or reverse some of those gains. Health leaders agreed that disease elimination needs to remain closely connected to Africa's wider health and development priorities rather than being treated as a collection of separate campaigns.

African Countries Are Turning Disease Elimination Into Reality

Progress against neglected tropical diseases provides some of the clearest evidence of what sustained public health action can achieve. Leprosy has been almost eliminated as a public health problem across the region, with only one country still to reach the elimination target, while 41 African countries have been certified free of Guinea worm disease, an infection capable of causing severe pain and disability.

Several countries reached historic milestones during 2025. Burundi, Mauritania and Senegal eliminated trachoma, while Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness. Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness, adding to a growing list of countries that have successfully interrupted diseases once deeply rooted in communities.

Progress has extended beyond neglected tropical diseases. Botswana achieved gold-tier status on the Path to Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem, while Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles eliminated measles and rubella. These achievements show how political commitment, community participation, surveillance, treatment and reliable health services can work together to produce lasting results.

One Stronger Health System Could Fight Many Diseases

The Addis Ababa Call to Action places greater emphasis on moving beyond programmes that tackle diseases largely in isolation, encouraging countries to build integrated approaches around primary health care that can support several elimination programmes at the same time. A health facility with stronger laboratories, trained workers, reliable disease surveillance, accessible medicines and better information systems can identify and manage numerous health threats rather than depending on separate structures for every disease.

Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said the region's progress demonstrates the value of sustained political commitment, effective partnerships and strong health systems, while stressing that protecting these achievements will require continued investment and further action.

Country ownership is another major part of the renewed agenda. Health leaders called for stronger domestic investment so that elimination programmes are less vulnerable to changing external funding conditions, while development partners reaffirmed support for nationally led efforts and continued collaboration.

Funding and Health-System Gaps Could Put Hard-Won Progress at Risk

Despite the growing list of elimination successes, serious obstacles remain across the continent. Participants highlighted funding constraints, weak diagnostic and data-management capacity, limited integration of disease programmes into national health systems and insecurity in some countries, all of which can make it harder to find cases, deliver treatment and maintain surveillance after disease levels fall.

Protecting communities after elimination is especially important because reaching a target does not mean health systems can stop watching for new infections. Continued surveillance, laboratory capacity, trained health workers and rapid responses to suspected cases are needed to prevent diseases from returning and to preserve years of investment and community effort.

WHO reaffirmed its commitment to working with African countries, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners on technical assistance, partnerships and monitoring of elimination targets. Niger's Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs, Colonel-Major Dr Garba Hakimi, described the call to action as a reflection of the region's shared determination to protect existing gains while strengthening national leadership and resilient health systems.

Africa's growing record of disease elimination shows that diseases once considered unavoidable can be pushed out of communities when health services, financing and political commitment remain consistent. The renewed continental agenda now puts the focus on turning individual successes into broader progress, ensuring that stronger health systems can tackle several diseases together while reaching millions more people.