{"id":6932,"date":"2025-04-03T06:10:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T06:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6932"},"modified":"2025-04-15T06:14:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:14:40","slug":"as-the-u-s-pulls-back-africa-builds-its-own-health-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6932","title":{"rendered":"As the U.S. Pulls Back, Africa Builds Its Own Health Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Stacy M. Brown<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Jean Kaseya remembers the moment a message alerted him to President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to freeze nearly all U.S. foreign aid.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, it sounded implausible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a joke,\u201d said Kaseya, director general of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/africacdc.org\/\">Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC)<\/a>. \u201cThen we realized it was not.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n<div class=\"newspack_global_ad scaip-1 fixed-height\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-caf9af3267-0\">Weeks later, what began as a freeze became a sweeping termination of foreign aid for most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaid.gov\/\">U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)<\/a>\u00a0programs\u2014stripping away critical funding from health and humanitarian initiatives across Africa.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In 2024 alone, sub-Saharan Africa received more than $12.7 billion in U.S. foreign assistance, a figure that climbs higher when accounting for the U.S.-backed global health programs where African nations are primary beneficiaries.<\/p>\n<p>The decision has left leaders across the continent scrambling. \u201c[African] leaders are calling me,\u201d Kaseya told NPR. \u201cThey are asking: \u2018What can we do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He tries to offer an answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like you are a child. You had a wealthy father. One day, you wake up, and they say, \u2018Oh, your father had an accident. He passed on.\u2019 Then you have to survive,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou have to find a way to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n<div class=\"newspack_global_ad scaip-2 fixed-height\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-2bd992b9b0-0\">And survival, Kaseya added, now depends on building internal resilience.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>To help fill the gap and strengthen health systems, Africa CDC has launched a major new initiative focused on genomic surveillance and bioinformatics in partnership with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/aslm.org\/\">African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM)<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mastercardfdn.org\/en\/\">Mastercard Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Part of Phase II of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/africacdc.org\/saving-lives-and-livelihoods\/\">\u201cSaving Lives and Livelihoods\u201d<\/a>\u00a0initiative, the program aims to boost the continent\u2019s pandemic preparedness by equipping countries with advanced laboratory infrastructure and data systems.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative delivers cutting-edge molecular diagnostics equipment, genomic sequencing tools, and comprehensive training to healthcare professionals across African Union member states. It also includes the development of a continent-wide platform for pathogen data sharing\u2014critical for early detection, monitoring, and coordinated responses to health threats.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese investments are central to strengthening Africa\u2019s ability to detect, monitor, and respond to public health threats in real-time,\u201d Kaseya said. \u201cThis initiative ensures that no country is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n<div class=\"newspack_global_ad scaip-3 fixed-height\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-dc2e0e383b-0\">The program will also help grow a skilled workforce in genomics and bioinformatics, empowering local health systems to make data-driven decisions independently of foreign support.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Nqobile Ndlovu, CEO of ASLM, called the program a key moment in Africa\u2019s health security efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are entering a critical phase in Africa\u2019s journey toward sustainable public health resilience,\u201d Ndlovu stated.<\/p>\n<p>Kaseya also noted that after Trump\u2019s move, other nations quickly followed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat started in the U.S. was followed by other wealthy countries in the world, by European countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n<div class=\"newspack_global_ad scaip-4 fixed-height\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-ca419f6974-0\">With funding from traditional partners drying up, African nations are now focusing on homegrown solutions, deeper regional cooperation, and long-term investments in infrastructure and innovation.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Kaseya also has a message for the U.S. and others who may overlook Africa\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfrica will be 2.5 billion people in 2050. It will be the largest population in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the U.S., they need that market. There are more middle-class people because more Africans are becoming educated, and they are making money. My message to my colleagues and friends in the U.S. is, \u2018We are open.\u2019 If they are looking for friends, Africa is there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said it takes a whole-continent and global approach in truly combating widespread health challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd in the health area, one of the major lessons we learned from COVID is no one is protected if your neighbor is not [protected],\u201d Kaseya explained. \u201cA country-based approach will not solve the issue. An outbreak that will start somewhere will quickly be in other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n<div class=\"newspack_global_ad scaip-5 fixed-height\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-45854c9b0e-0\">Source: Published without changes from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/africa-centers-disease-control-africa-cdc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Washington Informer Newspaper<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Stacy M. Brown Dr. Jean Kaseya remembers the moment a message alerted him to President Donald Trump\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-express"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6934,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932\/revisions\/6934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}