Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Name	Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Formation	2017
Founder	African Union
Type	Intergovernmental organization
Headquarters	Addis Ababa
Location	Ethiopia
Region served	Africa
Leader title	Director
Leader name	John Nkengasong
Parent organization	African Union Commission

Contents

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is a public health agency established to support Member States of the African Union in disease prevention, preparedness, surveillance, and response. Launched by the African Union during the tenure of Paul Kagame and approved at an African Union Summit, it operates from headquarters in Addis Ababa and coordinates with regional institutions such as the West African Health Organization, the East African Community, and the Economic Community of West African States. The agency interfaces with global actors including the World Health Organization, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control to strengthen continental public health systems.

History

The concept originated in deliberations among heads of state including Muhammadu Buhari, Cyril Ramaphosa, and Uhuru Kenyatta after high-profile outbreaks such as the 2014–2016 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak. Formal establishment occurred at an African Union Summit with instruments developed alongside the African Union Commission and input from technical bodies such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Early leadership involved figures linked to Nigeria and institutions including the Nigerian CDC and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health through advisory engagements. Subsequent milestones include operational scaling during the 2019–2020 novel coronavirus pandemic and expansion of regional collaborating centers modeled after regional centers like the Institut Pasteur network and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine partnerships.

Governance structures were created in coordination with the African Union Commission and are overseen by a Board composed of representatives from Member States of the African Union, technical partners such as the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, and experts from institutions like the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Director reports to AU authorities and coordinates with commissioners including the Commissioner for Social Affairs and regional health ministers from blocs such as the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern African Development Community. Scientific advisory groups draw membership from universities and research institutes such as the University of Nairobi, University of Cape Town, and the Institut Pasteur de Dakar. Administrative functions align with standards advocated by the World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Its core mandate includes continental disease surveillance, public health laboratory coordination, emergency response, and capacity building across Member States of the African Union. Functional areas involve supporting national public health institutes such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, assistance to ministries in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea affected by prior epidemics, and strengthening laboratory networks inspired by entities like the Africa CDC Regional Integrated Surveillance and Laboratory Network. It issues technical guidance during events similar to the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and aligns with global frameworks such as the International Health Regulations (2005). The agency also prioritizes workforce development collaborating with academic partners including the University of Ghana, Makerere University, and the University of Lagos.

Programs include the establishment of Africa CDC Regional Collaborating Centres aligned with regions like North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa, initiatives for laboratory strengthening modeled after the Institut Pasteur system, and workforce training akin to the Field Epidemiology Training Program supported by partners such as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Africa CDC Pathogen Genomics Initiative. Disease-specific initiatives target threats like Ebola virus disease, Lassa fever, malaria, and HIV/AIDS in coordination with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNAIDS. Vaccination campaigns and supply chain programs have been coordinated with actors including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, CEPI, and national immunization programs led by ministries in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The agency secures funding and technical support from a range of partners such as the European Union, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Africa Development Bank, and multilateral lenders including the World Bank. Strategic partnerships include cooperation agreements with the World Health Organization, academic collaborations with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and laboratory collaborations with the Institut Pasteur de Dakar and national public health institutes like the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa. Funding mechanisms combine AU allocations, bilateral grants from countries such as China and France, and programmatic support from foundations like the Wellcome Trust.

The agency has coordinated continental responses during crises including the 2019–2020 novel coronavirus pandemic, the resurgence of Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and outbreaks of cholera and yellow fever in multiple countries. Response activities have included surveillance deployment, laboratory diagnostics scale-up with partners such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supply chain management in concert with UNICEF, and vaccine deployment coordination with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and WHO. It has also worked with regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community to harmonize cross-border public health measures, drawing lessons from prior missions such as international responses to the 2014–2016 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa and pandemic preparedness frameworks exemplified by the Global Health Security Agenda.

Category:Public health organizations