Groups Prepare For Health Crises In Africa

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) is teaming up with the African Union Commission to create the African CDC—a public health institute that will support the entire continent of Africa. The new institute aims to monitor public health and facilitate the deployment of volunteers and health care workers during health emergencies in Africa. “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,” says CDC Director Tom Frieden. The creation of the African CDC has been in the works since 2013, when it was envisioned at a summit on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria in Nigeria. NIH created a program with the South African Medical Research Council that year to fund research targeting HIV/AIDS and TB. Under that program, NIH awarded 31 grants last week to U.S. and South African scientists, totaling $8 million in first-year funding.