Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (short: Africa CDC ; German for example: "African Centers for Disease Control and Protective Measures") are a statutory institution of the African Union (AU). Their responsibilities are divided into five regional areas ( Regional Collaborating Centers ), which represent the following major regions and oversee them from individual locations: North Africa , East Africa , Southern Africa , West Africa and Central Africa . The seat of Africa CDC is located at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa ( Ethiopia ).

Foundation and concerns

The establishment of this institution was first initiated at a special AU summit in July 2013 in Abuja in view of the threats posed by HIV , malaria and tuberculosis in African countries.

In January 2016 (January 30-31), the 26th Ordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government then passed the resolution to establish the Africa CDC . This confirms the Statute of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC) and the framework for its field of activity. Africa CDC acts as a platform for the exchange of knowledge and conclusions from events in the field of public health care.

The Africa CDC was created to support and strengthen the activities of AU member states in the field of public health care. In addition, through increased cooperation, health risks are to be recognized faster and better in order to be able to react to them promptly and effectively. In detail, the aim is to continuously improve the public infrastructure of medical practice and prevention by striving for a balanced personnel structure, sufficient capacities for medical monitoring, laboratory diagnostics and for emergencies and disasters.

Further specific tasks (selection) exist in the following fields of action:

Assistance in or implementation of hazard mapping and risk assessments in regions and at national level for the Member States.
Harmonization of disease control and prevention measures, monitoring systems and related policy processes in the Member States.
epidemiological and laboratory training programs in the member states.
Establishment of early warning and response monitoring bases in order to address all health threats and health emergencies as well as natural disasters in a timely and sustainable manner.

Statute

The statute of the Africa CDC consists of 34 articles, in which the competence, structure and functioning (Section 3, Operations of the Africa CDC ) of this institution as part of the African Union is determined. In addition, statements about the financial budget and the cooperation with the AU member states and the WHO are made.

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Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong (Kampala, 2016)

Governing Board (Board). The Presidium consists of 15 members and is an advisory body (Articles 9 and 10)
Advisory and Technical Council (The Council). The Supervisory and Technical Council consists of 23 members (Articles 14 and 15)
Secretariat . The secretariat is led by a director empowered to act as CEO for Africa CDC (Article 19)

The most important subdivision for the area of the secretariat and thus the most essential working level are the Regional Collaborating Centers (RCC), which are described in Article 24 of the Statute. At least five centers are required for the development phase of Africa CDC . Centers for Regional Cooperation (RCC) exist for North Africa in Cairo , Egypt, for East Africa in Nairobi , Kenya, for Southern Africa in Lusaka , Zambia, for West Africa in Abuja , Nigeria and for Central Africa in Libreville , Gabon.

financing

According to the statute of the Africa CDC (Art. 31), the institution is funded from the AU budget and in addition to possible contributions from member countries, development cooperation organizations or private donors.

The World Bank approved a $ 250 million pandemic project on December 10, 2019 , which the Africa CDC will use to set up laboratories, a health record system and emergency mechanisms.

Appreciation and challenges

In an article by the US think tank Brookings , Africa CDC is certified to have successfully developed the necessary political guidelines, personnel and assistance to combat epidemics such as Ebola. In the reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had also initiated the necessary coordinated steps and worked appropriately. The challenges still consist of developing the necessary autonomy, strengthening one's own capacities and having to work with insufficiently equipped national health systems.

Web links

Commons : Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

African Union : Africa CDC website . on www.africacdc.org (English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, Chinese, Spanish)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g African Union : Statute of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention . online at www.au.int (English) AU link to language versions
↑ Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Contact Us . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ AU: First Extraordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice And Legal Affairs - Doc. EX.CL/935(XXVIII), point vii. . online at www.au.int (English)
↑ ^a ^b Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About Us . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ African Union, CDC: Northern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ African Union, CDC: Eastern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ African Union, CDC: Southern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ African Union, CDC: Western Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ African Union, CDC: Central Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)
^ The World Bank: The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Receives Support to Strengthen Continental and Regional Infectious-Disease Detection and Response Systems. December 10, 2019, accessed April 28, 2020 .
^ Aloysius Uche Ordu: The coming of age of the Africa Centers for Disease Control. In: Brookings. April 15, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 (American English).

8.99924 38.74434Coordinates: 8 ° 59 ′ 57.3 " N , 38 ° 44 ′ 39.6" E

[AU_Statut_CDC-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g African Union : Statute of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention . online at www.au.int (English) AU link to language versions

[2] Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Contact Us . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[3] AU: First Extraordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Justice And Legal Affairs - Doc. EX.CL/935(XXVIII), point vii. . online at www.au.int (English)

[CDC_about_us-4] Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About Us . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[5] African Union, CDC: Northern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[6] African Union, CDC: Eastern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[7] African Union, CDC: Southern Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[8] African Union, CDC: Western Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[9] African Union, CDC: Central Africa RCC . on www.africacdc.org (English)

[10] The World Bank: The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Receives Support to Strengthen Continental and Regional Infectious-Disease Detection and Response Systems. December 10, 2019, accessed April 28, 2020 .

[11] Aloysius Uche Ordu: The coming of age of the Africa Centers for Disease Control. In: Brookings. April 15, 2020, accessed April 27, 2020 (American English).