Editor's note: Bereket Sisay is a journalist and political commentator of African affairs. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On September 20, a new case of Ebola arising from a relatively rare strain of Ebola virus was confirmed in Uganda. As of October 1, there have been 35 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths, with many more probable cases and a suspected fatality rate of around 50 percent. In addition to this, there are growing fears that the latest outbreak of Ebola in Uganda could spread to neighboring countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Following this, the neighboring country Kenya's health officials are investigating a suspected case of Ebola in the country's west near Uganda. The government of Uganda, the World Health Organizations (WHO) and partners are working hand in hand on the ground to fully contain the virus. Health workers are deployed to virus-detected areas to carry out tight surveillance activities to quell the transmission of the virus. Neighboring countries are on high alert to contain the virus before it spreads to the general public.

It's recalled that during the 2014-2016 round of the deadliest Ebola outbreak, more than 11,000 people died of the virus, including hundreds of health workers. The subsequent outbreak of the virus from 2016–2021 has also taken many lives on the continent, despite international communities' struggles to reverse the tide. Though a variety of reasons can be attributed to the recurring outbreaks of the virus on the continent and the devastating impact it poses on people's lives, the African continent's weak health system contributes a lot in this domain. In many areas, particularly in the rural parts of the continent, health facilities do not exist, and health services aren't delivered as needed. In addition, many of these institutions are understaffed or under-resourced. This leads to a fragile health apparatus that fails to effectively prevent public health dangers. Surveillance and prevention measures would be jeopardized if the necessary resources were not available. Combating these types of health threats becomes a daunting task, potentially leading to a vicious circle of continuous pandemic strikes all over again.

Hence, the frequency of the occurrence of the Ebola virus has now sounded an alarm over the African governments, the African Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and any other concerned bodies to act beyond the norm and address the issue feasibly. African health threats require sustainable financial and technical support, apart from one-time quasi-prevention activities. The continent needs a robust health system that can vigorously deal with not only Ebola but also any sort of public health threat at anytime, anywhere. The African health system chains, which begin from health education all the way to service delivery, are required to be restructured and strengthened along the critical lines of current and future health needs. It is therefore essential to increase the sector's budget to meet this requirement.

Many studies carried out on the issue show that health expenditure, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is still the lowest compared with other regions, though it has been experiencing a significant surge in the past two decades. As a result, it is difficult to build health institutions with necessary equipment and to train health professionals to be mission-ready. Not only that, it makes it cumbersome for African governments to effectively deal with outbreaks in their own capacity and forces them to seek support outside. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has obviously demonstrated how the African health system is fragile and ill-equipped to deal with major public health challenges. Hence, spurring financial support is critical to building a well-equipped health center while ensuring accessibility. Africa's partners need to help the continent's efforts to address the grass-root problem of health financing and develop health infrastructure in a holistic manner.

Health institutions need to be furnished with all the materials that enable them to carry out rigorous research and analysis besides the routine task of health service delivery. Funding should also be directed toward providing appropriate training to nurses, physicians and other health professionals who work tirelessly to save lives and improve people's health. This is because providing health professionals with up-to-date knowledge is critical to changing the entire health landscape.

This enables health institutions to undertake investigations into diseases, figure out necessary medications including vaccines, and provide medical care. This whole sum enables the continent to enhance its disease surveillance capacity and implement appropriate infection prevention measures against Ebola-like outbreaks while improving the continent's future pandemic preparedness and response capacity at large. In this case, China's sustenance of Africa is paramount. China, as a friend of Africa and a robust global partner in the sector, has been providing Africa with both financial and technical support. This support is highly trusted in bringing these needed results. The continent has also opted for surfacing sustainable solutions to its emerging challenges, which I hope will continue in the future too.

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