Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya has warned that closing borders during an Ebola outbreak may drive cross-border movement underground, making it more difficult for authorities to track infections.

Kaseya urged African governments to keep borders open and prioritise preparedness and public health measures, stating that outbreak responses should be coordinated by national governments and guided by a single response strategy.

“Closing borders does not stop an outbreak. It pushes people onto routes we cannot see,” Kaseya said.

He made the remarks following last week’s Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting on Ebola, where he urged health ministers to avoid border closures in favor of measures that strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness.

Kaseya said Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) were tracking response funding to ensure governments could establish how much support they were receiving and how the money was being allocated.

He reaffirmed Africa CDC’s commitment to supporting governments as they lead their countries’ responses to outbreaks.