The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention hopes to have its status upgraded from a specialized technical institution to a public health agency by July, Dr. John Nkengasong, the institution’s director, wrote in an email to Devex.
Increased agility: Last weekend, during the African Union’s annual summit, the heads of state agreed to elevate Africa CDC’s status to give it more authority and flexibility. Currently, the institution is housed under the African Union Commission, which means it is dependent on the commission for its budget, travel approvals, and procurement decisions. The director also must go through various levels of red tape within the commission before responding to an outbreak, causing delays.
But once upgraded to a health agency, rapid decisions and administrative tasks will be housed under the Africa CDC.
“It makes it an agile organization that can move rather quickly,” Nkengasong said during a press briefing Thursday.
As a health agency, it will also cover a broader range of public health issues beyond emergency response.
The change will also elevate the director’s status to director general. U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated Nkengasong to lead the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, so the Africa CDC could have a change in leadership this year. Because of this, it's likely the new leader will take on this title. The director general will report directly to the heads of state as well as to AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Next steps: The Africa CDC submitted a road map of how to operationalize the changes to the AU’s Permanent Representatives Committee, including information on the financial implications. After approval, it will be forwarded through various committees and to the specialized technical committee. The operational plan will then be submitted to the executive council meeting at the mid-year summit, which usually happens around July, Nkengasong said. These processes are just a formality, Nkengasong said, adding that the decision to move forward was already agreed upon by the heads of state.
More reading:
► How a continental approach helped Africa’s pandemic response (Pro)
► African Union calls for bolstered health emergency infrastructure
► Africa CDC focuses on youth, diaspora, and self-tests to fight COVID-19
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
