AU Assembly Decision, Establishment, and Roadmap\Time for African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

The information listed below are excepts from the African Union 1st African Ministers of Health meeting jointly convened by the AUC and WHO April 14-17, 2014 in Luanda, Angola  to discuss the establishment of an African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.   Proposed location and roadmap\timeline for implementation are provided in the following proposal annexes.

BEMA

file:///H:/auc-who-2014-doc5-en%20(1).pdf

ANNEX 1 

AU Assembly Decision on ACDCP
                                                                              Assembly/AUDec.499 (XXII)

Decision on the Establishment of an African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP)

Doc.  Assembly/AU/16/(XXII)Add.4

The Assembly,

1.  RECALLS the Abuja Declaration of 16 July 2013;

2.  TAKES NOTES of the proposal of Ethiopa to host the Centre in Addis Ababa;

3.  STRESSES the urgency of establishing the Centre;

4.  REQUESTS the Commission to work out the modalities, in collaboration of
     with the Governments of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and
     other interested Member States including the legal, structural and financial
     implications relating to the centre and to submit a report in January 2015
     to the Assembly.




ROADMAP

The ACDCP could be operational by the end of the first quarter of 2015 if everything goes according to plan. To that end, a roadmap is proposed below:

ROADMAP TO ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACDCP

TASK                                 DESCRIPTION                                     TIME-LINE
Stakeholders meeting   Inaugural meeting to discuss the operationalization of ACDCP.         June 2014

Stakeholders meeting   Meeting of relevant experts to discuss the legal requirements  
                                  and implications.                                                                             June 2014

Situation analysis         Recruitment of a consultant to map the existing regional facilities 
                                  (centres of excellence, capacity building organizations, etc.) providing
                                  support to African countries.
                                  This could include a feasibility study in terms of current national and 
                                  subnational networks available, and cost-benefit analysis of the Centre. 
                                         -----------------                                                                                            
                                  Recruitment of a consultant to undertake a desk review of disease patterns 
                                  and map hot-spots with a quantification of the work to be done to address 
                                  the disease burden.
                                         -----------------
                                  This could also include mapping of capacities, taking into account the 
                                  work already done by other stakeholders such as WHO/AFRO in supporting 
                                  countries for capacity assessment                                                   July-August 2014

Stakeholders meeting:
planning                       Based on the outcome of the situation analysis, a site for the headquarters 
                                   will be identified, a human resource plan developed, priority activities identified,
                                   and centres identified.                                                                  September 2014

Financial valuation        Following elaboration of the structure and activities, a financial evaluation may be
                                   carried out to assess the costs of running the ACDCP.                  October 2014

Expanded stakeholders meeting
                                   The meeting is aimed at mobilizing resources. Participants will include 
                                   representatives of countries, AUC, UN agencies, development partners 
                                   and other potential financial contributors.                                       November 2014

Stakeholders technical meeting
                                     The meeting will develop the ACDCP’s standard operating guidelines, staff ToRs 
                                     and guidelines for supporting African countries. The meeting will also develop
                                     procurement plans, human resource recruitment plans, etc.           November 2014

Operationalization         Staff will be recruited, equipment procured, office space secured and demand created.                                                                                                                                       March 2015

Business development    Exploring new area of work, creating demand and mobilizing resources.
                                                                                                                                      On -going

REVISIT AND IMPLEMENT. African Union: African Centre for Disease Control, Prevention (ACDCP)

Now is the time for Nigeria to take the 'leap' in in responding to the Ebola Pandemic for AU member states to recognize its ability to respond to this and future disease outbreaks especially in the identification, response, and recovery.

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/fg-wants-african-centre-disease-control-prevention-nigeria

FG Wants African Centre for Disease Control, Prevention in Nigeria

ARTICLE | APRIL 21, 2014 - 4:11PM | BY AUGUSTINE AMINU

The Federal Government has requested that the proposed African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP)’ be set up in Nigeria, Minister of Health, Dr Onybuchi Chukwu, said.

Chukwu said  in Luanda that the request was made to the Conference of African Union Ministers of Health and World Health Organisation.

Chukwu cited the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as a yardstick for the request, saying Nigeria was the first in Africa to establish such a centre.

He said that the Nigeria centre had been doing well in conducting researches on disease outbreak, prevention and other public health issues.

`` Nigeria, so far, has the best disease surveillance system according to WHO, on the continent of Africa.

``Actually, Nigeria was the first to offer to host the African Centre for Disease Control followed by Ethiopia and since then we have been working toward it.

``It was inconclusive, though Ethiopia brought it up, the decision was that we should still do more consultation and I believe what we are saying here is part of that consultation,’’ he said.

Chukwu said many countries outside Africa, including the U.S., supported the ACDCP initiative.

``The idea is to have a strengthened centre for disease control so that when we have an outbreak it will take the lead in investigation and treatment,’’ he said.

Chukwu recalled that Nigeria was the first country to host its neighbours in 2012 to discuss disease control.

He said WHO recognised that meeting as the first of its kind in the world that a country initiated.

``What we need is what we always say since 2010 when we first called that meeting on cross border infection control.

``Infections do not care for passport or visa, diseases just move across borders, not something a single country can curtail.

``You will see what has happened recently, an outbreak started in Guinea before you knew it, it spread to three other countries,’’ he said.

Chukwu commended President Goodluck Jonathan for his support for the establishment of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

On the establishment of African Medicine Agency, Chukwu said Nigeria was still in the lead as no other country in the continent had been able to establish a similar body to National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

He said NCDC, NAFDAC and FRSN were three institutions in Nigeria that had not been replicated in other countries.

``So, Nigeria is solidly behind this establishment of a common body that can regulate drugs within Africa, ‘’he said.

Chukwu lauded ministers of health in Africa for doing much regarding the health sector, including the establishment of African Public Health Fund.