Establishing the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention: responding to Africa's health threats

On Jan 31, 2017, heads of states and governments of the African Union and the leadership of the African Union Commission will officially launch the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As detailed in the African Union's Africa Agenda 20631—a roadmap for the development of the continent—some of the concerns that justified the establishment and initiation of an Africa-wide public health agency include rapid population growth; increasing and intensive population movement across Africa, with increased potential for new or re-emerging pathogens to turn into pandemics; existing endemic and emerging infectious diseases, including Ebola;2 antimicrobial resistance;3 increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases and injuries;4 high maternal mortality rates; and threats posed by environmental toxins.