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News ArticlesPartners Review Progress on Strengthening Disease Surveillance and Health Security Across Africa 

Partners Review Progress on Strengthening Disease Surveillance and Health Security Across Africa 

Partners Review Progress on Strengthening Disease Surveillance and Health Security Across Africa

Nelly Rwenji  ASLM,

Health and security partners from across Africa convened in April 2026 for the first progress review meeting of Phase II of the Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance in Africa (HSPA), reaffirming their collective commitment to strengthening epidemic intelligence, biosecurity, and coordinated response systems across the continent. 

The meeting brought together representatives from Ministries of Health and security sectors from Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, The Gambia, and Tunisia, alongside international and regional partners working to advance Africa’s health security agenda. 

Convened by the World Health Organization, Africa CDC and Robert Koch Institute, the meeting was supported by the Government of Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program and the Government of the United Kingdom. The initiative is aligned with the G7 Global Partnership and the Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa (SIMBA). 

Participants reviewed progress made since the launch of HSPA Phase II in May 2025, highlighting significant achievements in strengthening national and regional disease surveillance systems. 

Countries reported expanded implementation of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR), stronger event-based surveillance and reporting systems, continued advances in genomic surveillance, and improved laboratory biorisk management practices. Delegates also noted the growing adoption of the SIMBA platform, which is supporting coordination and alignment with other global partnership initiatives focused on mitigating biological threats and enhancing preparedness capacities. Throughout the two-day meeting, participants shared lessons learned from implementation, discussed persistent challenges, and identified practical actions needed to sustain momentum and further strengthen epidemic intelligence and biosecurity systems across the region. 

Speakers emphasized that collaboration between health and security sectors remains critical for preventing, detecting, and responding to public health threats, particularly in an increasingly interconnected global environment where outbreaks can rapidly cross borders. The meeting concluded with partners reaffirming their commitment to advancing early detection systems, strengthening timely decision-making, and enhancing coordinated response mechanisms to build a more resilient health security architecture for Africa’s future. 

Quarter II Upcoming engagements 

The following events/activities are planned for 2026 Q2: 

  1. Official launching of the two (2) additional RCoEBBs in Central and Northern Africa. 
  2. Conduct RTCP-BBP Level I Training: 
  3. Biocontainment Engineering at the RCoEBB for Eastern Africa; 
  4. Conduct pilot training of newly developed Laboratory Equipment Maintenance and Calibration course at the RCoEBB for Eastern Africa; 
  5. Advanced BWM at the RCoEBB for Eastern Africa; 
  6. Biocontainment Engineering at the RCoEBB for Central Africa; 
  7. Biocontainment Engineering at the RCoEBB for Northern Africa; 
  8. BWM at the RCoEBB for Western Africa; 
  9. Conduct a workshop titled: Advancing Biosafety and Biosecurity in Africa: Reflections on the 2021–2025 Strategy and Pathways for the 2026–2030 Strategy during the Global Health Security Conference (GHS2026).