On 30 October 2025, the Republic of the Congo became the 35th country in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region to implement sentinel surveillance for influenza, an achievement that strengthens regional capacity to monitor, detect and respond to respiratory threats and supports global pandemic influenza preparedness efforts. This launch follows months of preparation and contributes to the WHO African Region’s broader goal of expanding influenza surveillance capacity across all Member States.
Congo applied WHO’s regional sentinel site selection checklist to identify strategic health facilities for surveillance, ensuring coverage in high-risk urban areas and alignment with national health priorities. In May 2025, a national training workshop brought together 25 participants including clinicians, surveillance officers, and laboratory staff from the Ministry of Health, the National Public Health Laboratory, WHO Country Office, WHO Regional Office for Africa and partners. During the workshop, teams finalized site selection, received hands-on training on integrated influenza surveillance, and developed a national surveillance protocol with technical support from the WHO.
Three sentinel sites—one in Pointe-Noire and two in Brazzaville—now form the backbone of Congo’s influenza surveillance system, enabling timely specimen collection and data reporting. This marks a strategic investment in having a system and health workforce capable of monitoring influenza viruses and disease, reinforcing Congo’s commitment to sustainable health security. With Congo’s achievement, the WHO African Region moves closer to comprehensive country level influenza surveillance coverage.
“This event is not merely a technical activity; it symbolises a major strategic advancement for the Republic of Congo in building a public health system that is more resilient, more responsive, and better prepared to face emerging and re-emerging public health threats.”
– Vincent Dossou Sodjinou, WHO Representative to the Republic of the Congo
Next steps include activating the selected sentinel sites, validating the national protocol, and integrating the system into the regional Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response framework to ensure sustainability and alignment with health security priorities. These actions will ensure Congo’s surveillance system is not only operational but also contributes meaningfully to regional preparedness and global health security.