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This research explores the criteria and authority involved in declaring global health emergencies, focusing on the Africa CDC's recent actions.

February 24, 2026Open Access

What is a Global Health Emergency and Who should decide? Africa CDC’s declaration of a “Public Health Emergency of Continental Security” in a Crisis-Ridden World

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This research explores the criteria and authority involved in declaring global health emergencies, focusing on the Africa CDC's recent actions.
Analysis of the Africa CDC's declaration and its timing relative to the WHO's announcement.
Evaluation of the International Health Regulations in the context of recent public health crises.
Review of expert committee recommendations influencing health emergency declarations.
The Africa CDC's declaration preceded the WHO's PHEIC, indicating regional initiative.
The outbreak of mpox across multiple countries demonstrates a critical health risk.
The distinction in timing raises questions about standardized emergency response protocols.

Resumen

On August 14, 2024, the upsurge of mpox across more than a dozen African countries was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). 1 As is often the case, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) director-general made this determination on the basis of advice tendered by an expert committee convened under the International Health Regulations (IHR)—the world’s only international agreement on public health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response. 2 The timing of this declaration, however, differed in one crucial respect from past PHEIC declarations: just one day earlier, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) had issued its own regional alert, designating the outbreak a “Public Health Emergency of Continental Security” (PHECS). 3

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