African health ministers, development partners, heads of African Union and regional health institutions today agreed on a renewed continental agenda to accelerate the elimination of multiple diseases in the region, committing to ensuring that disease elimination remains a priority within broader health and development agenda.
Meeting during a high-level ministerial side event held on the margins of the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, the health leaders also endorsed the Addis Ababa Call to Action on Protecting and Accelerating Multi-Disease Elimination in Africa which aims to boost country ownership, domestic investment in health and improve resilient health systems that are capable of responding to multiple public health challenges.
This meeting comes at a time when the region is making major progress in eliminating and controlling diseases that have long-burdened communities. Over the past decade, for example, there has been significant progress in the elimination of neglected tropical diseases. Leprosy has been almost completely eliminated as a public health problem in the region with only one country yet to achieve the elimination target. In addition, 41 African countries have to date been certified free of Guinea worm disease, a debilitating parasitic infection. In 2025 alone, Burundi, Mauritania and Senegal eliminated trachoma; Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness; and Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness. In other disease areas, Botswana achieved gold tier status on the Path to Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV as a public health problem and Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles eliminated measles and rubella.
“As a region, we have made great strides towards multiple disease elimination goals,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “These achievements highlight the impact of sustained political commitment, strong health systems and effective partnerships. What we need now is to sustain these gains, invest more and push further”.
The Addis Ababa Call to Action emphasized the need to move beyond disease-specific interventions towards integrated approaches that strengthen primary health care and deliver results across multiple disease programmes. Partners reaffirmed commitment to supporting country-led elimination efforts and underscored the need for continued collaboration to ensure that recent achievements are sustained and expanded to benefit more communities across the region.
Participants also acknowledged persistent challenges, including funding constraints, limited integration of disease programmes into national health systems, weak diagnostic and data management capacity and insecurity in some countries. These challenges, they noted, could reverse hard-won gains if not addressed through coordinated action and sustained investment.
WHO reaffirmed its commitment to working with Member States, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and partners to provide technical support, facilitate partnerships and monitor progress towards elimination targets.
“The call to action from this meeting reflects the region’s collective determination to protect hard-won gains and ensure that elimination efforts remain a priority,” said Colonel-Major Dr Garba Hakimi, Minister of Public Health, Population and Social Affairs, Niger. By strengthening country leadership and investing in resilient health systems, we can accelerate progress and improve the health and well-being of millions of people across the region.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.
