According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), unexpected drops in US and European development aid have the potential to endanger millions of lives in the continent with a likelihood of wiping out decades of health gains in the world.
Director-General of the Africa CDC Dr. Jean Kaseya spoke at the bi-weekly media webinar press conference on Thursday.
“As the U.S. Congress prepares to debate the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, on March 25, millions of lives in Africa hang in the balance,” he said.
Kaseya sounded the alarm on what he called a “total disaster” for the continent’s health sector.
“This year, the ODA funding has been slashed by 70 per cent, dropping from 81 billion dollars to just 25 billion dollars.
“Beyond HIV/AIDS, the funding crisis comes amid a surge in disease outbreaks across Africa—up 41 per cent in the past two years.
“In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the loss of USAID funding has disrupted Mpox testing, leading to a 16 per cent drop in confirmed cases—not because the outbreak is under control, but due to a lack of resources to track it.
“The turnaround time for testing has also increased in many regions due to logistical challenges,” he said.
He said that the aid cuts threaten to undo 20 years of progress in maternal and child health, infectious disease control, and poverty reduction.
According to him, entire health systems could collapse, and millions more Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty, NAN reports.
“Africa CDC projects that 39 million people will be driven into poverty as a direct result of these funding cuts,” he said.
According to him, as Washington debates the future of PEPFAR, African leaders are scrambling for alternatives.
Kaseya said he has been meeting with ministers and the African Union to push for increased domestic investment in health and explore “blended financing” strategies involving the private sector.
“One innovative proposal involves leveraging the 95 billion dollars in annual remittances from the African diaspora, potentially through a taxation model to fund healthcare initiatives.
“With limited time to act, I will be meeting with members of the Trump administration, PEPFAR officials, and U.S. lawmakers to make the case for continued aid,” he said.
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