When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention was in its infancy. The crisis forced the agency to run before it fully began to walk, and experts say it has done so successfully — skillfully navigating the uncharted waters with limited resources.
“It rose to the occasion. It became the sounding board for the heads of states … to be a thought leader in these times of need,” said John Mwangi, co-chair of the Africa Regulatory Network.
While having a continental coordinating body didn’t prevent the failures of the international system — only about 4% of the population across the African continent is fully vaccinated for COVID-19 — experts told Devex the continent would have been much worse off without the Africa CDC.