Malawi has become the second African country after Zambia to officially launch a national multi-pathogen genomic surveillance strategy, positioning itself at the forefront of disease detection and pandemic preparedness on the continent.
The updated strategy, unveiled by the Ministry of Health, was developed with technical support from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) through its Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative.
It builds on Zambia’s 2023 framework and aligns with the Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Surveillance Policy, offering a comprehensive roadmap up to 2030.
Ministry of Health permanent secretary Samson Mndolo described the strategy as a roadmap for implementing a robust one health genomic surveillance system across the country with different stakeholders.
“We have been front runners in genomics, but we lost the opportunity to learn from others. So, we decided to revisit and update the 2023 plan,” Mndolo said on Wednesday.
The plan integrates genomic sequencing into Malawi’s public health infrastructure, enabling early detection, tracking and response to infectious disease outbreaks.
It also establishes a National Genomics Committee comprising public, private and academic laboratories, supported by a steering and advisory group.
Africa CDC’s Lul Riek hailed the launch as “the dawn of a new era,” noting that Malawi’s proactive approach places it ahead of other countries in regional disease surveillance.
“This moment marks the dawn of a new era, where science, innovation, and determination converge to build a stronger, more resilient health system for all starting from Malawi by leveraging genomic sequencing power to identify and track pathogens enabling early detection, tracking and characterisation of pathogens,” Riek said.
The strategy targets priority pathogens including Mpox, Marburg, Cholera and the hypothetical Disease X, and supports precision medicine, antimicrobial resistance monitoring and real-time outbreak response.
Malawi is one of 16 African countries working with Africa CDC to develop national pathogen genomics strategies. Others are Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
JN/APA