Africa is on course to have a pan-African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, after the initiative which had previously been proposed was adopted at the sidelines of the 27th summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda.
The initiative was first proposed by Ethiopia and approved by the AU Commission in 2013 at the 22nd ordinary session in Abuja, Nigeria. It aims to fight against pandemics such as HIV-AIDS, malaria, ebola virus and the the Zika virus.
The Africa CDC Coordination Office will be based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It will allow member countries (AU) to exchange and share medical innovations, to help address the health challenges faced by the continent and protect African citizens by giving them health security.
With the establishment of the CDC, the AU will review progress toward implementing transformative reforms in HIV, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics, alongside continued efforts to build resilient health systems and provide universal access to health care.