Date of publication: 02 September 2024
(CONSULTING SERVICES– INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS)
AFRICA CENTRES FOR DISEASE CONTROL SUPPORT PROGRAM TO COMBAT CURRENT AND FUTURE PUBLIC HEALTH THREATS PROJECT
Reference number: ET-AUC-442616-CS-INDV
The African Union has received financing from the World Bank for the ” Africa Centres for Disease Control Support Program to Combat Current and Future Public Health Threats Project”.
Development Objective of the Project: Enhance the capacity of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to support AU Member States (MS) in preventing, detecting, and responding to current and future public health threats.
- Background
The African Union, established as a unique Pan African continental body, is charged with spearheading Africa’s rapid integration and sustainable development by promoting unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States as well as developing a new partnership worldwide. Its Headquarters is located in Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia.
Officially launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017 as a specialized technical institution of the African Union, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is Africa’s first continent-wide public health agency. Africa CDC envisions a safer, healthier, integrated, and stronger Africa, where the Member States can effectively respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases and other public health threats. The agency’s mission is to strengthen the capabilities of Africa’s public health institutions and systems to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other health burdens through an integrated network of continent-wide surveillance, laboratory, disease control and prevention, preparedness and response, and research programs. To achieve its mission, the Africa CDC works in all geographic regions of the African continent and has instituted technical divisions to focus on five priority areas, namely Surveillance and -Disease Intelligence, Laboratory Systems and Networks, Disease Control and Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and Public Health Institutes and research.
In recognition of globalisation, population movements, influence of community interconnections and the fact that diseases don’t recognize borders, the Africa CDC continues to respond to emergencies in collaboration, coordination, and communication and data sharing among Africa Union Members States (MS). Emergency responses are critical for reduction in morbidity and mortality through early detection, control and prevention of transboundary public health threats, and accelerates implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), 3rd Edition, to safeguard the socioeconomic and political integration of the continent, aligned with the Africa Health Strategy 2016-2030, and to achieve the AU Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want.
A Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) serves as a hub for coordinating preparedness and response to public health emergencies. It brings together multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral experts to coordinate the response to emergencies in a structured and effective way using the Incident Management System (IMS). It improves resource utilization, collaboration, communication, and the availability and sharing of quality information in real time for evidence-based decision-making.
Africa CDC, in partnership with other stakeholders, is supporting African Union Member States to establish and strengthen their national PHEOCs. To date, several Member States have established functional PHEOCs and others are in the process.
An evaluation of the process of setting up PHEOCs in Africa conducted in 2021 found that Member States were at different levels. In addition, H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, issued a call to action entitled “Strengthening Public Health Emergency Operations Centres in Africa” on the margins of the African Union Mid-Term Meeting in Lusaka on 16 July 2022. In operationalizing the call to action, Africa CDC has identified 23 Member States as priority countries for the 2023-2024 fiscal year in order to ensure the functionality of their PHEOC. An initial scoping mission was carried out by experts from Africa in each of the targeted countries and areas of support has been identified.
To support strengthening of PHEOCs in 3 Member States, Africa CDC requires the services of a seasoned short-term consultant. This consultant is envisioned to also support Priority 3 (Ensure robust emergency preparedness and response capabilities for all public health emergencies) in the Africa CDC Strategic Plan of 2023 to 2027. These Terms of Reference (ToR) outline the core activities and deliverables of this consultancy to strengthen the PHEOC in 3 selected Member States. Africa CDC will provide overall direction and enable links to relevant stakeholders.