Strengthening and Establishing National Public Health Institutes is a Top Priority for Africa CDC
In its inaugural annual report, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) lists strengthening National Public Health Institutes (NPHI) as one of its top priorities for 2018, an effort that IANPHI fully supports.
From a Lassa fever and meningitis outbreak in Nigeria, and malaria response efforts in Mozambique and Namibia, to an Ebola scare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa CDC’s success stem from lessons learned from the 2013 Ebola epidemic and is actively and effectively working to truly safeguard all of Africa.
The Africa CDC was established in 2017, the same year it successfully responded to nine outbreaks, which included supporting the first-ever activation of a sub-national emergency operations center for Lassa fever in Nigeria and creating a malaria monitoring dashboard and checklist for malaria outbreak investigation in both Mozambique and Namibia.
In its inaugural annual report commemorating the anniversary of this life-saving endeavor, Africa CDC listed strengthening NPHIs as one of its top priorities in 2018, an effort that IANPHI fully supports.
“We’re systems-focused, not disease-focused,” said John Nkengasong, the first director of Africa CDC. “Our mission is to support African nations as they create strong health systems and institutions, and then ensure that they are sustainable, fully functional operations that can be called on to fight multiple diseases.”
IANPHI is a proud supporter of Africa CDC. African NPHIs were among the founding members of IANPHI, and IANPHI has worked since its inception to strengthen public health capacity in Africa. The IANPHI Africa Regional Network, established in 2014, is comprised of institutes actively involved in Africa CDC and fully supporting its vision for a safer, healthier, integrated and prosperous Africa.
Read Africa CDC’s first annual report.
Members of the IANPHI Africa Regional Network