Issued date: 31 July 2025

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 in preventing, detecting, and responding to current and future public health threats.

1.    BACKGROUND

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 Africa’s public health institutions’ capacities and capabilities to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other health burdens through an integrated network of continent-wide preparedness and response, surveillance, laboratory, and research programs.

Wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) has been demonstrated as a valuable public health tool for detecting priority pathogens, monitoring antimicrobial resistance and assessing environmental health risks. Recognizing its potential, the Africa CDC aims to strengthen WES capacities across African Union (AU) Member States as one of the tools for early detection and monitoring of public health threats at the community level. This consultancy will support Africa CDC in assessing the current WES landscape, identifying key stakeholders, and developing a strategic framework to guide the implementation of WES initiatives across Africa.

2.    OBJECTIVE OF THE CONSULTANCY

Africa CDC wishes to develop a continental strategy that will inform the context specific approach, define the priorities and objectives for scaling up WES for public health in the AU Member States.

Specific Objectives:

• Conduct a comprehensive mapping of existing WES capacities, resources, gaps, and needs across AU Member States through structured surveys, key informant interviews, and analysis of existing public health surveillance data.
• Identify and engage key WES stakeholders, including government agencies, regional organizations, research institutions, donors, and private sector actors,
• develop a joint action plan for coordination for coordinating WES in Africa.
• Develop a contextualized WES strategy and implementation plan, ensuring alignment with regional and global public health priorities, financial resources, policy frameworks, and socio-economic contexts.
• Propose a robust monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework to track the progress, impact, and sustainability of WES initiatives in Africa.