Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) January 16, 2015 / 64(01);20-27
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and
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Prevention (Africa CDC) Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative was launched by the Africa CDC in April 2019 with the aim of strengthening the African Union (AU) Member States’ biosafety and biosecurity systems and enabling them to comply with national and international requirements for biosafety and biosecurity including the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and the multi-country Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the Global Health Security Index report confirmed the known capacity gaps in biosafety and biosecurity among Africa Union Member (AU).
The regional consultations by Africa CDC conducted between 2019-2021 highlighted the deficiency or limited availability of standardized and regionally recognized training programs in the continent, limiting biosafety and biosecurity capacity building efforts in the region. In response, Africa CDC working with AU Member States developed a home grown, implementable and accessible professional training and certification program that is both recognized and endorsed by AU Member States. The Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals, for African Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals (RTCP-BBP) has four (4) areas of specialization, namely
Selection, Installation, Maintenance and Certification of Biological Safety Cabinets
Biorisk Management
Design and Maintenance of Facilities Handling High Risk Pathogens (Biocontainment Engineering)
Biological Waste management
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Euro Surveillance 2014;19(47):pii=20970, p.31-37
Africa CDC Institute of Pathogen Genomics (IPG) was launched in November 2019 and operates under the Division of Laboratory Systems
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and Networks.
IPG coordinate the implementation of molecular diagnostics, pathogen genomics and bioinformatics in National Public Health Institutions (NPHIs) and/or Refe-
-rence Laboratories (NRLs) across Africa.
Africa CDC and APHF are coordinating a continental initiative to maximize the benefits of molecular approaches and pathogen genomics for more effective
outbreak preparedness, prevention, response, and for the control and elimination of endemic diseases in Africa. One of Africa CDC’s flagship initiative is the Africa
Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI), a partnership that aims to strengthen laboratory systems and enhance genomic surveillance by equipping the continent’s
public health institutions with the tools, training, and data infrastructure.
About the Project
In 2023, 166 outbreaks and public health events were reported in Africa. This calls for a resilient laboratory systems for timely detection and reporting of current and future outbreaks. This project aims to scale up molecular diagnostic and genomic sequencing-based detection and characterization of outbreaks.
Africa CDC is working with Member States to develop guidance, diagnostic algorithm, training and capacity building to enable outbreak detection, and reporting to inform public health response.
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August 2020, The Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 is underpinned by the need to limit transmission, prevent deaths and reduce associa
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ted harms. Participation by African nations in clinical trials is an essential step to ensure that sufficient data is generated on the safety and efficacy of the most promising vaccine candidates among the region’s populations.
While current COVID-19 clinical trial activity on the continent is limited, Africa has substantial experience and capabilities to conduct clinical trials for preventative vaccines across a range of diseases, and many organizations on the continent are working tirelessly to help prepare additional trials on potential COVID-19 vaccines. As the number of candidate vaccines in the development pipeline continues to increase, it will be important for organizations responsible for managing clinical trials in the region to partner with vaccine developers to identify potential and appropriate trial locations, provide support to remove any critical obstacles impeding commencement and progress of trials, and to provide oversight ensuring that trials are conducted safely and ethically.
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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and
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Prevention (Africa CDC) Biosafety and Biosecurity Initiative was launched by the Africa CDC in April 2019 with the aim of strengthening the African Union (AU) Member States’ biosafety and biosecurity systems and enabling them to comply with national and international requirements for biosafety and biosecurity including the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 and the multi-country Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The World Health Organization (WHO) Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the Global Health Security Index report confirmed the known capacity gaps in biosafety and biosecurity among Africa Union Member (AU).
The regional consultations by Africa CDC conducted between 2019-2021 highlighted the deficiency or limited availability of standardized and regionally recognized training programs in the continent, limiting biosafety and biosecurity capacity building efforts in the region. In response, Africa CDC working with AU Member States developed a home grown, implementable and accessible professional training and certification program that is both recognized and endorsed by AU Member States. The Regional Training and Certification Program for Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals, for African Biosafety and Biosecurity Professionals (RTCP-BBP) has four (4) areas of specialization, namely
- Selection, Installation, Maintenance and Certification of Biological Safety Cabinets
- Biorisk Management
- Design and Maintenance of Facilities Handling High Risk Pathogens (Biocontainment Engineering)
- Biological Waste management
more
7 June 2021
The Africa Regulatory Taskforce is a joint effort established by the Africa Centres for Di
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sease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) coordinated African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) Initiative, and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) African Vaccine Regulatory Forum (AVAREF) to enable and provide support for an effective regulatory framework for COVID-19 Vaccines in Africa.
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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) October 4, 2019 / 68(39);851–854
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and
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Prevention (Africa CDC) was established in 2017, after the west Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak. Upon creation, the
role of Africa CDC was to mandate strengthening of the capacity of public health institutions in Africa to prevent, detect, and respond to disease threats, based on science, policy, and data-driven interventions and programmes, as envisaged by the Abuja Declaration. The inaugural strategic plan was focused on building health systems for emergency preparedness and response. However, from its inception, the organisation recognised the concomitant need to comprehensively strengthen systems to prevent and manage noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries, and to face the neglected issue of mental health disorders. The division dedicated to these issues was conceptualised, but operationalisation was deferred to a future date.
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For over 23 years, CDC has collaborated in Malawi with local and international partners to strengthen health systems. The office works to prevent,
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detect and respond to diseases. Efforts include building healthcare workforce capacity, strengthening laboratory systems, and increasing the capacity of surveillance and health information systems. CDC also implements high-impact HIV and tuberculosis programs through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and supports malaria control activities under the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative.
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24 Nov. 2021; This guidance provides considerations and a series of options that can be used to inform country strategies to minimise risk associated with shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Re-use
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and reprocessing of single use PPE must be a last-resort temporary measure that is implemented only until stocks are replenished (2).This remains an area of active research and further updates to this evidence base are anticipated.
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The Government of Liberia (GoL) reports three additional EVD cases linked to the Margibi County cluster, including one in Liberia’s Montserrado County; new confirmed case total reaches six
Recently extended Operation Northern Push strengthens contact tracing
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and EVD prevention activities in Sierra Leone
The Government of Guinea (GoG) and EVD response actors investigate source of infection for EVD-positive nurse in Forécariah Prefecture, the area’s first confirmed case among health care workers since March
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