By MONICA KAYOMBO,Zambia, Lusaka,
HEALTH experts under the African Alliance for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (AFRICALLI) are calling for allergy treatment and prevention to be given greater attention across Africa as the continent prepares to mark World Allergy Week in June.
The alliance says many people living with allergies continue to face challenges such as limited access to specialised treatment, poor public understanding of allergic conditions and inadequate consumer protections.
Medical professionals within the network are urging governments, healthcare institutions and other stakeholders to strengthen allergy care systems by investing in specialist training, improving access to medicines and promoting early diagnosis.
AFRICALLI also wants countries to adopt clearer food labelling systems and establish more coordinated clinical approaches to managing allergies. Officials say tackling allergies requires cooperation from multiple sectors, including health authorities, schools, industry, the media and patient groups.
Dr Hilary Andoh, President of the Allergy Society of Ghana, said World Allergy Week should serve as an opportunity for African countries to recognise allergy care as an important part of public health services. He has also invited stakeholders to participate in the joint Allergy Society of Ghana and AFRICALLI Congress scheduled for November 19 to 20, 2026 in Accra, Ghana.
Across Africa, families living with allergy and immunologic diseases face a familiar set of barriers: few trained allergists, limited access to diagnostic testing, inconsistent availability of inhalers, antihistamines, adrenaline auto-injectors and biologic therapies, as well as food labelling and consumer-protection frameworks that vary widely from country to country. Allergy is too often diagnosed late, managed informally or mistaken for something else entirely.
The result is a continent where preventable allergic emergencies still happen in classrooms, clinics, restaurants and homes and where many patients only encounter specialist care after a severe reaction.
“Allergic diseases are among the most common chronic conditions in the world and Africa is not exempt. What is different here is the system around the patient,” Prof Mike Levin, Founding President of AFRICALLI and Head of the Division of Paediatric Allergy at the University of Cape Town said.
Prof. Levin added that “We have committed healthcare professionals and growing national societies but in most African countries allergy care is still treated as optional. AFRICALLI exists to change that: to build the training, the standards, the data and the advocacy that make allergy care a normal part of African health systems.”
AFRICALLI is a continental alliance supported by the World Allergy Organization (WAO) and brings together clinicians, researchers, trainees and patient representatives from more than 20 African countries. The organisation focuses on promoting awareness, education, research collaboration and evidence-based allergy care through conferences, webinars, guidelines and advocacy initiatives across the continent.
The World Allergy week and the campaign is led globally by WAO and observed by WAO member societies and partners worldwide, including AFRICALLI. This year’s World Allergy Week will be held under the theme: “Allergy Care is Essential Care.” This is according to a statement issued by AFRICALLI Media Consultant Paula Wilson.
