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Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) (2025) CC

Africa’s health sector is facing an unprecedented financing crisis, driven by a sharp decline of 70% in Official Development Assistance (ODA) from 2021 to 2025 and deep-rooted structural vulnerabilities. This collapse is placing immense pressure on Africa’s already fragile health systems as ODA ...is seen as the backbone of critical health programs: pandemic preparedness, maternal and child health services, disease control programs are all at risk, threatening Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage. Compounding this is Africa’s spiraling debt, with countries expected to service USD 81 billion by 2025—surpassing anticipated external financing inflows—further eroding fiscal space for health investments. Level of domestic resources is low. TThe Abuja Declaration of 2001, a pivotal commitment made by African Union (AU) member states, aimed to reverse this trend by pledging to allocate at least 15% of national budgets to the health sector. However, more than two decades later, only three countries—Rwanda, Botswana, and Cabo Verde—have consistently met or exceeded this target (WHO, 2023). In contrast, over 30 AU member states remain well below the 10% benchmark, with some allocating as little as 5–7% of their national budgets to health. In addition, only 16 (29%) of African countries currently have updated versions of National Health Development Plan (NHDP) supported by a National Health Financing Plan (NHFP). These two documents play a critical role in driving internal resource mobilisation. At the same time, public health emergencies are surging, rising 41%—from 152 in 2022 to 213 in 2024—exposing severe under-resourcing of health infrastructure and workforce. Recurring outbreaks (Mpox, Ebola, cholera, measles, Marburg…) alongside effects of climate change and humanitarian crises in Eastern DRC, the Sahel, and Sudan, are overwhelming systems stretched by chronic underfunding. The situation is worsened by Africa’s heavy dependency with over 90% of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics being externally sourced—leaving countries vulnerable to global supply chain shocks. Health worker shortages persist, with only 2.3 professionals per 1,000 people (below the WHO’s recommended 4.45), and fewer than 30% of systems are digitized, undermining disease surveillance and early warning. Without decisive action, Africa CDC projects the continent could reverse two decades of health progress, face 2 to 4 million additional preventable deaths annually, and a heightened risk of a pandemic emerging from within. Furthermore, 39 million more Africans could be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to intertwined health and economic shocks. This is not just a sectoral crisis—it is an existential threat to Africa’s political, social, and economic resilience, and global stability. In response, African leaders, under Africa CDC’s stewardship, are advancing a comprehensive three-pillar strategy centered on domestic resource mobilization, innovative financing, and blended finance. more

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National strategy and plan of action for pharmaceutical manufacturing development in Ethiopia (2015–2025)

Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2015) C1

Strategy plan

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Policy Brief: Impact of COVID-19 in Africa

UN; UNSDG (2020) C2

It is too early to know the full impact of COVID-19 on Africa. To date the experience has been varied. There are causes for concern, but also reasons for hope. Early estimates were pessimistic regarding the pandemic’s impact on the continent. But the relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases report... more

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Health emergency preparedness for imported cases of high-consequence infectious diseases

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ecdc) (2022) C_CDC

Preparedness planning is essential in order to respond effectively to outbreaks, including single case occurrences of highconsequence infectious diseases (HCID), such as the importation of a viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) case

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The war in the Region (Spring 2022)

World Bank (2022) CC

Europe and Central Asia Economic Update. The Russian Federation’s war with Ukraine has triggered a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and threatened the stability of geopolitical relations. Economic output in the Europe and Central Asia region is forecast to contract by more than 4.1% in 2022—the... more

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Analysis of the nature and contribution of innovative health financing mechanisms in the WHO African Region

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

Africa is off track to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and lags behind in building resilient health systems and health security, against a backdrop of limited resources. The world envisaged a significant role for governments in funding the Sustainable Development Agenda, but inadeq... more

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Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2023) C_WHO

The Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific aims to strengthen the food analysis capacity of Pacific Island countries and areas by identifying national and reference laboratories capable of testing for priority foodborne hazards. The Pacif... more

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Non-conventional humanitarian interventions on Ebola outbreak crisis in West Africa

Tambo, Ernest (2014)

Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2014, 3:42 http://www.idpjournal.com/content/3/1/42

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UNICEF Venezuela. Resumen de actividades

UNICEF (2016)

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Philippines: Disaster Management Reference Handbook

Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (2018) C1

The Philippine Government, International Non-government Organizations (INGOs) and local NGOs are all making attempts to address the impact of disasters and climate change at various levels. The Philippine Government has made significant strides in the implementation of disaster risk reduction (DRR) ... more

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Handbook for the Management of Public Health Events in Air Transport

World Health Organization WHO (2016) C_WHO

Updated with information on Ebola virus disease and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus A wide variety of health events ranging in severity may occur related to air transport, requiring different responses or, perhaps, no response at all. The target audience for this guidance document incl... more

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Ebola Myths, Realities and Structural Violence

ANNIEWILKINSON ANDMELISSA LEACH (2014)

The scale of West Africa’s Ebola epidemic has been attributed to the weak health systems of affected countries, their lack of resources, the mobility of communities and their inexperience in dealing with Ebola. This briefing for African Affairs argues that these explanations lack important contex... more

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Situational Analysis Report on Antimicrobial Resistance in Pakistan

The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy CDDEP (2016) C2

Pakistan Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) was formed in the wake of international and national efforts for AMR curtailment. A group of experts from microbiology, infectious diseases and veterinary medicine formed a core group at the organizational meet... more

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Personal Safety & Security Handbook

Bickley, Shaun CARE International (2014) C1

CARE International’s Personal Safety & Security Handbook has been developed to provide practical personal safety and security advice and guidance to all staff working in CARE offices and field sites throughout the world.
Each section has a detailed list of contents at the beginning and cut-ou... more

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Financing Health for All: Increase, transform and redirect - The WHO Council on the Economics of Health for all - Council Brief No. 2

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2021) C_WHO

The world has been turned on its head by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This has provided a stark wakeup call on the severe under-financing of health systems around the world. It has laid bare the inequalities and limitations in the capacities of countries at all levels of develop... more

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Outbreak of pneumonic plague in Madagascar : recent introduction in the Seychelles

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2017) C1

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View PDF (2014)

WHO Interim Guidance for Ebola Event Management at Points of Entry

World Health Organization WHO (2014)

The aim is to provide early detection of potentially infected persons; to assist in implementing WHO recommendations related to Ebola management; and to prevent the international spread of the disease while allowing PoE authorities to avoid unnecessary restrictions and delays

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How COVID-19 is changing the world. Vol.III

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2021) C1

Since the release of the first volume in May 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to rage around the world. By mid-March, 2021, countries around the globe had reported over 123 million cases—a nearly five-fold increase since this report’s previous volume—and over 2.7 million deaths attrib... more

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Effective Implementation of Public Health and Social Measures in Ethiopia: Situational Analysis

WHO; Africa CDC; World Economic Forum et al. PERC (2020) C_WHO

PERC produces regional and member state situation analyses, updated regularly.

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Surviving Ebola: Public perceptions of governance and the outbreak response in Liberia

International Alert (2015)