Strengthening diagnostic capacity in Africa as a key pillar of public health and pandemic preparedness.

• Authors: Kenji O. Mfuh, Stanford Medicine; Ngu Njei Abanda, Centre Pasteur of Cameroon; Boghuma Titanji, Emory University
• Journal Title: PLOS Glob Public Health
• Volume: Volume 3, Number 6
• Publisher: PLOS | 2023, Pages e0001998-e0001998
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001998
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Health Care Management

Abstract

According to recent forecasts from the United Nation’s Population Division, Africa’s population is expected to double from one billion to two billion inhabitants by 2050 [1]. This population growth, combined with climate change and increasing human encroachment on animal habitats, is likely to lead to more outbreaks of emerging diseases [2]–some of which we have seen over the past decade. The Ebola outbreak that occurred in West Africa between 2014–2016 was the most extensive outbreak ever recorded, resulting in the deaths of 11,325 people [3], and since 2020, there have been four outbreaks of the Marburg virus (in Tanzania, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, and Ghana) and three outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda). These outbreaks emphasize the urgency of strengthening laboratory and diagnostic capacity in Africa so that the continent can become self-sustaining in its ability to respond to such threats.