Africa grappling with rising cases of Syphilis
Photo courtesy ; Ministry of Health
BY Moses Ndhaye
Health experts meeting in Kampala for the inaugural Africa Triple Elimination Conference has raised the red flag over the rising cases of Syphilis infections on the continent.
They say that with the exception of Namibia and Botswana, the rest of the countries must act now to reverse this dangerous trend.
Addressing delegates at opening of the conference in Munyonyo, Kampala on July 21, 2025, health minister Dr. Jane Aceng said in Uganda the Syphilis prevalence stands at 2.1% among adults, the Uganda Population HIV impact assessment survey indicates and infection rate of 4.1% among adults, while 0.6% of the children are infected with Hepatitis B.
Specifically Dr Aceng says in Africa, 8 million adults are infected with syphilis, 700,000 cases of which are congenital; 230,000 deaths are recorded each year.
“The African continent has the highest increase in syphilis cases among all nations with only Botswana and Namibia on the path to the elimination of the mother to the child transmission, Africa is home to 65million people chronically infected with hepatitis B and contribute 63% of new global infections. In Uganda approximately 1.5 million people are living with HIV, ‘’ says Dr. Jane Aceng.
This first-ever, Africa Triple Elimination Conference, is dedicated to accelerating the elimination of HIV, Hepatitis B, and Syphilis through a unified and collaborative approach.
