This edition focuses on the World Health Organization’s Strengthening and Utilization of Emergency Response Groups (SURGE) initiative and the dozens of health professionals who recently concluded their training under this program.

Now, SURGE is one of three flagship programs by WHO Africa designed to improve the way African countries deal with health emergencies, from preparedness to detection and response. Its initial phase was launched in Senegal in 2023.

The other initiatives are the Programme for Strengthening Emergency Management Systems (PROSE), and the Transformation of Surveillance Systems in Africa (TASS).

It became imperative to implement these frameworks following the resurgence of major health emergencies in our continent.
According to the WHO in November 2023, the African Region was facing more than 130 disease epidemics including infectious disease outbreaks like cholera, yellow fever, meningitis, measles, Ebola, and more.

In the Sahel region of West Africa, more than 33 million people in six countries are in urgent humanitarian situations requiring life-saving treatment.