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The Director General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Jean Kaseya, has called on leaders across the continent to translate political commitments into concrete action as an ongoing Ebola outbreak casts a shadow over the Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra, Ghana.
In a post shared on X on Tuesday to mark the opening of the summit, Kaseya said the continent could no longer afford to delay investments in resilient health systems, warning that the current Ebola outbreak reveals the urgency of strengthening Africa’s capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.
“As the Extraordinary Summit on Health opens in Accra, we have an opportunity to move beyond ambition and deliver the political decisions that will strengthen continental health systems,” he wrote.
Kaseya stressed that public health emergencies extend beyond statistics and have devastating consequences for individuals and communities.
“We must remember that behind every statistic is a person, a family and a community,” he said.
Describing the Ebola outbreak as a wake-up call for the continent, Kaseya urged governments to commit to sustainable health financing and African-led solutions capable of responding rapidly to future emergencies.
“The Ebola outbreak we are confronting is a painful reminder that the time for action is now,” he said.
“This moment calls for stronger political commitment, sustainable health financing, resilient health systems and African-led solutions that allow us to respond faster and protect our communities.”
He warned that waiting until another health emergency emerges would come at a high human cost.
“We cannot wait for the next crisis to remind us of what is at stake. The decisions we make today will determine our ability to save lives tomorrow. The time to act is now,” he added.
The Extraordinary Summit on Health brings together African heads of state, ministers, public health experts and development partners to discuss strengthening health systems, expanding domestic health financing and improving the continent’s preparedness for future epidemics and pandemics.
Kaseya’s remarks come as Africa continues to grapple with an Ebola outbreak that has renewed concerns about the continent’s readiness to contain deadly infectious diseases.
There have been more than 2,400 confirmed cases and 900 deaths. According to Kaseya, this outbreak may be the worst.
“Unfortunately, we have now recorded 900 deaths. Sixty-five days into this outbreak, we already have more than 2,400 confirmed cases. If we do not stop it today, this will become the worst outbreak the world has ever documented,” he added.
The Ebola outbreak is escalating at an alarming pace. We must act now.
“Unfortunately, we have now recorded 900 deaths. Sixty-five days into this outbreak, we already have more than 2,400 confirmed cases. If we do not stop it today, this will become the worst outbreak the world… pic.twitter.com/UIs1PeEiHE
— Dr Jean Kaseya (@Dr_JeanKaseya) July 21, 2026
