Setting up centers for disease control in Africa

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The need for an Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support African countries in monitoring and responding to public health threats was recognized by the African Union (AU) in 2013.

The wake-up call came in 2014, when some countries in West Africa were hit by the deadly Ebola virus and thousands died. The Africa CDC was formalized in 2015,, with an official African Union launch in 2017.

The Director for the Africa CDC John Nkengasong says regional centers of the CDC will support all African countries to improve surveillance, emergency response, and the prevention of infectious diseases.

“We have over 65 staff available not just at the headquarters but at the some of the regional centers including Zambia and Kenya. And our hope is that by the end of the year the other centers in Nigeria, Egypt and Gabon will also go operations,” explained Dr. Nkengasong.

The Africa CDC emergency center at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia /CGTN Photo

China's role in assisting Africa to build its CDC was part of the agenda during an official visit by an African Union delegation to China in February.

“China is committing up to 80 million dollars for the construction of Africa CDC and other regional Centers, that is key,” says Dr. Nkengasong. “We already have Chinese consultants here at the African Union who are helping us.”

A team from the Chinese CDC has already visited the AU health experts in Addis Ababa, to discuss how further China can be of assistance.

Ebba Kalondo, the Spokesperson of the Chairperson of the AU Commission says that China’s partnership with Africa in the health sector is just an addition to many other areas where it has stepped in for the benefit of the continent.

“Partnership with China becomes more important as the South-South partnership frameworks become more important within the new global contexts,” said Kalondo.

Africa CDC emergency center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia /CGTN Photo

For now, the Africa CDC is tapping from existing medical expertise within the continent.

It wants to introduce scholarships for medical personnel within the universities in Africa, to sharpen their skills and strengthen the continent’s much needed public health response system.