Beyond 2026: preventing the collapse of yellow fever elimination in Africa

Abstract

Yellow fever remains a significant and persistent threat to public health in Africa, driven by the volatile interplay of rapid urbanization, climate-mediated vector expansion, and persistent immunity gaps. With an estimated 67,000–173,000 severe cases and 31,000–82,000 deaths annually, the vast majority occurring in Africa, the disease remains one of the continent's most consequential vaccine-preventable threats.1 The 2016 epidemics in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo exposed important gaps in global preparedness; they exhausted the emergency vaccine stockpile and led to the first documented yellow fever exportation to Asia.