The United States and the African Union signed an agreement on April 13, 2015, to create the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairwoman of the African Union Commission, signed a memorandum of cooperation formalizing the collaboration between the AU and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s top agency for studying and fighting disease.
“The West African Ebola epidemic reaffirmed the need for a public health institute to support African ministries of health and other health agencies in their efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any disease outbreak,” U.S. CDC Director Thomas Frieden said in a statement.
The African CDC is slated to launch in 2015 with the opening of a surveillance and response unit, which will provide technical expertise and help coordinate responses to health emergencies.
As part of the agreement, the U.S. CDC will send two public health experts to serve as long-term technical advisors to the African CDC. The United States also will support fellowships for 10 African epidemiologists to help staff five regional African CDC coordinating centers, which are being established to help monitor disease on the continent.