Posted on: Thu 15-05-2025

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Lassa fever has been ignored. Not just by the global health elite, but by many governments and institutions within West Africa itself. For over five decades, this hemorrhagic virus has quietly ravaged communities, misdiagnosed as malaria, underreported, and tragically, underprioritized.

Now, with Lassa threatening to put 600 million people at risk by 2050, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) is finally stepping up — or so we’re told.

WAHO recently announced the expansion of its Lassa Fever Coalition, bringing in Corona Management Systems, Nigeria Health Watch, and Bloom Public Health. The mission? To accelerate vaccine development and equitable access.

It all sounds promising. But forgive the skepticism: Where was this urgency ten years ago?

This disease didn’t just become a problem yesterday. What changed? Are we acting because the science caught up — or because the optics finally caught up with our negligence?

At the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers, Nigeria’s Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate called this a “strategic step” and a “blueprint for preparedness.” That may be true. But blueprints mean nothing without bulldozers.

Let’s not forget — Africa has been burned by big health promises before. Ebola, COVID-19, even routine vaccinations: each exposed just how fragile, underfunded, and donor-dependent our systems are. We don't need more coordination meetings. We need action.

Yes, it’s commendable that the Coalition is now regionally anchored, with a secretariat in Nigeria and field teams in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Benin. But how will this differ from past failures? How will we stop this from becoming another cycle of bureaucratic chest-thumping while people die in silence?

WAHO’s Director General Dr. Melchior Aissi said it best — no single country can solve Lassa fever alone. Yet, that reality hasn’t stopped nations from treating this as someone else’s problem for years.

And the international health community? Mostly silent. Until now. Until climate models started predicting a Lassa surge. Until the data started painting a picture too scary to ignore. Funny how global interest spikes when rich countries begin to feel the heat.

Even the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), based in Oslo, is only now putting major weight behind this effort. Should we applaud — or ask what took so long?

Let’s be honest: this isn’t just a health issue. It’s a power issue. A visibility issue. Lassa doesn’t make headlines like COVID. It doesn’t threaten airports in Europe. So it languishes.

But if WAHO is serious — if this isn't just another donor-driven vanity project — then it must start treating Lassa fever not as a niche problem, but as the regional emergency it is. That means funding vaccine trials locally, ensuring access without dependency, and putting real political pressure on governments that treat public health like a talking point.

To the new partners: the region doesn’t need another PR campaign. It needs lifesaving results. If you're not here for the long haul, don’t waste our time.

And to the global health establishment watching from afar: don't dare claim victory when this succeeds. You don’t get to show up at the finish line if you were never in the race.

This is West Africa’s fight now. And we can win it — but only if we stop playing nice and start demanding what should have been ours all along: urgency, respect, and results.

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