African AMR Surveillance and Research: Evidence at the Core
ISID participated in the inaugural Africa Fungal Disease Summit, convened by Africa CDC and the Global Action for Fungal Infections (GAFFI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 2-4 March 2026. Representing ISID, Dr. Mohamed Sirdar, Global Program Specialist for Antimicrobial Resistance, joined regional and global experts to advance discussions on fungal disease surveillance, diagnostics, access, and policy across Africa.
The summit marked a major milestone in elevating fungal diseases as a public health priority on the African continent. Bringing together public health institutions, researchers, clinicians, civil society organizations, and technical partners, the meeting focused on strengthening systems for earlier detection, improved diagnosis, and coordinated response to fungal diseases, which remain significantly under-recognized despite their growing burden.
During the summit, Dr. Sirdar delivered a presentation on behalf of ISID titled "Building Africa’s Fungal Disease Early Warning System", highlighting the critical role of epidemic intelligence and event-based surveillance in strengthening fungal disease preparedness and response across Africa. The presentation positioned fungal diseases within the broader global health security agenda and emphasized the need to complement traditional surveillance systems with early-warning approaches that detect signals more quickly, especially in settings where formal fungal surveillance remains limited.
Drawing on ISID’s long-standing experience in epidemic intelligence, the presentation showcased how ProMED, ISID’s flagship outbreak monitoring platform, can support fungal disease detection by capturing early signals from informal and non-traditional sources, often ahead of formal reporting systems. With more than three decades of experience in global outbreak intelligence, ProMED provides a practical and scalable platform to support earlier recognition of fungal threats and strengthen situational awareness in resource-constrained settings.
Why Fungal Disease Surveillance Matters Now
- Fungal diseases remain one of the most overlooked areas in infectious disease detection and response, despite causing substantial morbidity and mortality globally and across Africa. Discussions throughout the summit reinforced the urgency of stronger fungal surveillance systems, particularly as health systems face increasing threats from antifungal resistance, limited access to diagnostics, and weak laboratory capacity. Presentations across the summit highlighted the scale of the challenge:
- Severe fungal infections are estimated to affect up to 1.4 million people annually in Africa, contributing to more than 800,000 deaths each year.
- Cryptococcal meningitis alone remains a leading cause of HIV-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, despite the availability of effective tools for prevention and treatment.
- Major gaps persist in fungal diagnostics, antifungal access, laboratory referral systems, and surveillance infrastructure across many African countries.
These gaps continue to delay diagnosis, limit treatment access, and contribute to preventable deaths, particularly among immunocompromised populations and other high-risk groups.
ISID’s Contribution: Surveillance, Intelligence, and Early Action
ISID’s contribution to the Summit centered on a core message: fungal diseases must be integrated into broader epidemic intelligence and surveillance systems if countries are to detect threats earlier and respond more effectively. The summit provided an important platform to demonstrate how ISID’s surveillance and intelligence tools can support this shift. Through ProMED and ISID’s wider surveillance portfolio, ISID is well-positioned to contribute to fungal disease early warning through:
- Event-based detection of emerging fungal threats
- Rapid dissemination of expert-moderated alerts
- Improved visibility of under-recognized fungal events
- Support for situational awareness and cross-border intelligence sharing
- Stronger linkage between surveillance signals and public health response
This approach aligns closely with ISID’s broader work to strengthen intelligence-led surveillance systems that are practical, scalable, and responsive to emerging threats in low-resource settings.
A Timely Opportunity for Partnership and Action
The Africa Fungal Disease Summit underscored a growing recognition that fungal diseases can no longer remain neglected within public health systems. Delayed diagnosis, weak surveillance, and limited access to essential diagnostics and treatment continue to drive avoidable deaths, while emerging threats such as antifungal resistance and drug-resistant fungal pathogens increase the urgency for action. For ISID, the summit represented an important opportunity to contribute technical leadership and reinforce the role of surveillance, epidemic intelligence, and early warning in building stronger fungal disease systems across Africa.
As fungal diseases gain overdue attention within the continental and global health agenda, ISID remains committed to supporting practical, intelligence-driven approaches that strengthen detection, improve response, and help countries act earlier against emerging infectious threats.