African CDC to Open in 2015

Secretary of State John Kerry signed an agreement Monday to help establish a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Africa.

The memorandum of cooperation, signed by Kerry and African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Nkosanzana Dlamini Zuma, makes formal the relationship between the United States CDC and AUC, and mandates the establishment of an African CDC. The new institute, set to launch in 2015, will work to prevent and respond to future outbreaks in the continent, like the Ebola epidemic.

“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,” said CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden, in a statement. “This memorandum solidifies the commitment by the United States to advance public health across Africa and global health security.”

The formation of an African CDC has been under development for a few years, and the physical launch of the health institute will happen later this year. An African Surveillance and Response Unit will be established with an emergency operations center. Five regional centers will also be identified with a coordinating center in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Like the U.S. CDC, there will be epidemiologists at the various locations who will perform disease surveillance, investigation and tracking of infection trends. The new unit will also provide response expertise during large outbreaks.

“With the African CDC in place, these volunteers and others can be organized to form a deployable force ready to serve Member States during future health emergency responses on the continent,” said a CDC statement.