Strengthening Crisis and Pandemic Response in Africa

Today, I take on a new role as Head of Project - Strengthening Crisis and Pandemic Response in Africa, a three-year cooperation between the Government of Germany and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The project is implemented by the GIZ-African Union Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Africa CDC was launched in 2017 as a specialized technical institution of the African Union (AU) to support public health initiatives of AU Member States. In addition, the Africa CDC seeks to strengthen the capacity of public health institutions in AU Member States to detect, prevent, control, and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats.

The establishment of the Africa CDC was a direct result of AU’s emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in a few West African countries in 2014-2016. Learning from that experience, a decision was taken by AU Heads of States and Government in 2015 to strengthen regional efforts for coordinated response to public health challenges. Today, that decision seems like a look into the crystal ball. Barely two years after its establishment, the Africa CDC is providing effective emergency response and a unified front for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pandemics and public health challenges have a tremendous impact on realising Africa’s transformation goals. As recently reiterated by the AU Commission Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the issues Africa CDC is seized with are not just a health issue but one with far-reaching economic, social, and political implications. The Africa Development Bank (AfDB), noted that Africa’s GDP shrunk by 2.1 percent in 2020 because of the COVID–19 pandemic.

This is why strengthening the resilience of frontline regional institutions like the Africa CDC and its Regional Collaborating Centres (RCCs) is of great importance. There is a need to build a continental and global bulwark against the pandemics of today and the future. The current pandemic has shown clearly that nationalistic approaches have their limitations and that only through sustained regional and multinational cooperation can we ensure effective response and rapid recovery.

In this regard, the Africa CDC has come up with a bold and radical vision of a New Public Health Order in Africa, premised on four pillars of -

• Strengthened public health institutions,
• Strengthened public health workforce,
• Expanded and strengthened African manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics as well as
• Respectful, action-oriented partnerships.

Over the next three years, this project will support the AU and the Africa CDC in realizing the goals of the new public health order.?

On a professional note, I look forward to the experiences this role brings forth.

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