West African Scientists Sound Alarm as Regional Health Systems Grow Dangerously Weak

A Warning Issued in Lomé

West African laboratory scientists called on governments to strengthen capacity to detect disease outbreaks to avoid another major outbreak, saying health systems across the region are becoming weaker. The alarm was sounded on September 18th in Togo's capital, and it carried the weight of hard-won experience — from Ebola wards to COVID-19 field hospitals — across one of the world's most outbreak-prone regions.

The scientists issued their warning in Lome, where they gathered to discuss the region's level of preparation for disease outbreaks and dependence on vaccines from Western countries. The multi-day congress brought together laboratory professionals from across West Africa to take stock of where things stand — and by most accounts, the picture is not encouraging.

The Core Demand: Detect It Before It Spreads

The scientists said governments in the region have to cooperate to strengthen disease detection and invest in diagnostic capacities, citing lessons from Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks that the region has grappled with in the past decade. Their message was blunt: the infrastructure needed to catch a new pathogen early — before it becomes a catastrophe — is eroding rather than improving.

Kossi Kabo, the head of the Association of Medical Biologists of Togo and a co-chair of the congress, put it plainly. "We need to anticipate these outbreaks," he said. "We shouldn't wait for an epidemic to emerge somewhere before responding. By then, it would be too late." That sentiment captures the fundamental shift these scientists are pushing for: from reactive crisis management to proactive, sustained surveillance.

Routine health system maintenance has waned, meaning early warning signs of emerging pathogens may be missed before outbreaks escalate. When laboratories lack basic equipment, trained staff, and reliable supply chains, even a well-known disease can spiral out of control before authorities realize what they're dealing with.

Vaccine Dependence: A Structural Vulnerability

Beyond detection, the congress also tackled a deeper structural problem. Regional health leaders are pushing for localized diagnostic and laboratory capacity so nations can test and respond without relying exclusively on foreign vaccine shipments. That dependence was painfully exposed during COVID-19, when wealthy nations stockpiled doses and African countries were left waiting.

A continued reliance on other countries for health products is unsustainable and places African countries at risk, as seen during the COVID-19 response. The scientists in Lomé are not simply asking for outside help — they are demanding the tools and investment to build self-sufficiency from within.

A Region Already Under Pressure

The timing of this congress is no coincidence. Africa as a whole remains at risk for outbreaks. The rare Bundibugyo virus has killed over 3,600 people among nearly 7,500 cases in Congo since mid-May, when Congolese authorities announced a fresh deadly Ebola outbreak. That ongoing crisis next door underscores exactly why West African scientists are sounding the alarm now rather than later.

Pathogens cross borders rapidly, and public health experts emphasize that neighboring countries must cooperate to strengthen disease detection. No single nation can build a firewall against infectious disease on its own. By fostering regional manufacturing capacity, training skilled laboratory technicians, and reinforcing local surveillance networks, public health officials hope to transition from reactive crisis management to sustained epidemiological resilience. Whether governments across the region will heed that call — and fund it — remains the defining question as the world watches the next potential outbreak take shape.