Africa CDC inaugurate 5-year plan on public health

A five-year strategic plan for strengthening public health emergency operations centers in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean countries has been launched by the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, member states, the UK Health Security Agency, and other development partners.

It is anticipated that at least 50 African nations would implement the five-year strategy plan for 2023–2027, which was unveiled on Wednesday night at the ongoing third International Conference on Public Health in Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, in order to significantly improve health response and readiness.

The goal of the strategic plan is to direct the establishment of PHEOCs in Member States of the Eastern Mediterranean and African Regions in a way that satisfies the fundamental needs or specifications of a PHEOC.

The strategy will direct countries as they actively seek to establish PHEOCs as the hubs for risk assessment, resource sharing, and planning.

Through its assistance to Member States in strengthening their public health emergency management capacities, the PHEOC plays a vital role in fulfilling the requirements of international health legislation.

Nonetheless, it is projected that $181,837,498 will be required to carry out the initiatives slated for both regions during the following five years.

The budget will pay for, among other things, the cost of remodeling the PHEOC facilities, buying information technology equipment, paying experts’ salaries and daily subsistence allowances, having them participate in workshops, running training and simulation programs, and creating regional PHEOCs of excellence.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the Director General of WHO Regional Director for Africa, stated during the plan’s launch that the plan will influence public health in the Eastern Mediterranean and African regions going forward.

She claims that the devastation caused by disease outbreaks and conflicts puts millions of people’s health at danger and presents obstacles to that health.

 “Together, we are working on the next phase, ensuring a safer, healthier and more resilient future where public health emergencies no longer hold us tightened with fear.

“The plan marks a major milestone in the journey in ensuring health security and prompt response to public health emergencies,” Dr Moeti said

The WHO regional boss said there is a need to work together and pool resources to ensure the implementation of the plan.

 “We are writing a new chapter on health security in Africa that will benefit generations to come,” she added.

Dr. Jean Kaseya, the Director General of the Africa CDC, stated that since only one nation in Africa is equipped to handle a public health emergency, other nations in the continent are vulnerable to outbreaks.

 “As we know, the Africa region is facing an average of two to three outbreaks per week.

“From January to November 2023, we already have 158 public health emergencies that we are managing,” he said.

Strong PHEOCs are the sole means of both preventing and responding to outbreaks, the Africa CDC DG emphasized. Even though there has been improvement in emergency preparedness and response, inequality, according to him, still persists. On the other hand, he urges collaborations to support the five-year strategic plan’s execution.

 “The disparity that we see is calling us to have a strong partnership.

“This is why we are calling all of our colleagues, all of our partners to consider what we will achieve under this five-year strategic plan – 90 per cent of at least of countries with PHEOCs.

“We need $181m to implement this plan. Let us put our hands together, let us be sure that we are working, let us ensure that we provide at least the $181m that we are requesting,” Kaseya noted.

He promised to make member nations more aware of the need to support the plan’s implementation.

The PUNCH reports that the goals of the strategic plan are to develop and strengthen the PHEOC workforce’s (routine and surge staff) capabilities to support preparedness and response coordination among at least 90% of member states in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean by 2027; and guarantee that by that time, at least 90% of member states in these regions have developed and implemented the core PHEOC policy, plans, and procedures.

Other goals are to guarantee that by 2027, at least 90% of PHEOCs in the Member States of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region will have information management and sharing platforms with the minimal amount of data necessary, and that at least 90% of these Member States will have a PHEOC facility in place with the minimal amount of information, communication technology, and physical infrastructure.

Additionally, by the end of 2027, eight PHEOC centers of excellence are to be designated in a few member states in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean and African regions.