Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a public health agency of the African Union to support the public health initiatives of member states and strengthen the capacity of their health institutions to deal with disease threats. It was established in January 2016 and officially launched in January 2017.[1]

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History

The Africa CDC was established in January 2016 by the 26th Ordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government to improve coordination among health institutions among African Union member states in dealing with disease threats.[1] African Union member states had first considered the idea of establishing a continent wide public health agency in 2013. In July 2015, the African Union Ministers of Health meeting in Malabo had adopted the Statute of the Africa CDC, which called for fast-tracking the establishment of the institution.[2] The agency was officially launched in January 2017.[1][3][4]

2019–21 COVID-19 pandemic

The Africa CDC has played a role in responding to the global 2019–20 COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected Africa. In early April 2020, Director Dr John Nkengasong condemned remarks by two French scientists Professors Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht suggesting that a potential tuberculosis vaccine for the coronavirus be test in Africa as "disgusting and racist." Dr Mira has since apologized for his remarks.[5][6][7]

On 2 May 2020, the Africa CDC confirmed had nearly 40,000 cases, nearly 1,700 deaths, and more than 13,000 recoveries, and that COVID-19 had occurred in 53 African countries.[8] The Africa CDC has also worked with the Jack Ma Foundation to distribute COVID-19 testing kits throughout the continent. In 7 May, Dr Nkengasong disputed Tanzanian President John Magufuli's criticism that these tests were faulty and giving too many false positives.[9]

On 6 January 2021, the Africa CDC reported that the total number of cases in Africa has reached 2,854,971 while the death toll has reached 67,986 and that 2,361,900 have recovered.[10]

Organizational structure
Africa-CDC-Direktor John Nkengasong (Kampala, 2016)

The Africa CDC is based at the Africa CDC Coordinating Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which also contains the agency's Emergency Operations Centre.[3][4] The agency is led by Director Dr John Nkengasong and Deputy Director Ahmed Ogwell Ouma. Besides its Executive Office and a Science and Programme Office, the agency also has several divisions dealing with "policy, health diplomacy, and communication," "management and administration," "surveillance and disease intelligence," "laboratory systems and networks," "emergency preparedness and response," and " public health institutes and research."[11]

The Africa CDC also have regional collaboration centres in Egypt, Nigeria, Gabon, Zambia and Kenya; which cover Northern Africa, Western Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, and Eastern Africa respectively.[3][4][12] The Africa CDC also runs a specialised Pathogen Genomics Intelligence Institute and an Institute for Workforce Development.[13]

See also

References
  1. "About Us". Africa CDC. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. "Africa CDC Official Launch". African Union. 2017-01-31. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  3. "The African Union launches Africa CDC, a Continent-wide Public Health Agency". Reliefweb. 2017-02-02. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  4. "Africa CDC: Improving Disease Detection and Emergency Response on the African Continent". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2017-07-27. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  5. "Statement of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on the Potential Clinical Trial of a Tuberculosis Vaccine Protective Against COVID-19 in Africa". Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 9 April 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  6. "French Doctor Apologises for Suggesting COVID-19 Treatment Be Tested in Africa". NY Times/Reuters. 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. Mayberry, Kate; Siddiqui, Usaid; Najjar, Farah (9 April 2020). "Spain reports 683 coronavirus deaths in one day: Live updates". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  8. Qazi, Shereena; Varshalomidze, Tamila (2 May 2020). "Official says US missed chances to slow coronavirus: Live updates". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  9. Rashid, Zaheena; Gadzo, Mersiha; Stepansky, Joseph (7 May 2020). "Coronavirus could kill 190,000 in Africa, WHO warns: Live updates". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  10. Wangpinghabtamu (6 January 2021). "Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 2.85 mln: Africa CDC". The Star. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. "Staff Directory". Africa CDC. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  12. "Regional Collaborating Centres". Africa CDC. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  13. "Africa CDC Institutes". Africa CDC. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
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