Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The symposium marked the launch the 2017-2021 Africa CDC Strategic Plan, headed by Dr. John Nkengasong, of Cameroon.  The plan presented requires over US $34 million for 2017-2018 and over US $230 million for the entire period.  Among the key objectivities of this plan is the establishment of centralized event-based surveillance for priority pathogens in the continent and five Regional Collaborating Centres in Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia.  

To ensure the implementation of their plans the Africa CDC is exploring public-private partnerships to strengthen technical capacity for public health research and results across the continent and to promote and capitalize on innovations in this field.  In addition, to ensure the implementation of their plans the Africa CDC is exploring the establishment of an Africa CDC Foundation.

The Africa CDC presents an opportunity for UNFPA to sustain and enhance support for commodity security and sexual and reproductive health services, which proved to be critical during the Zika and Ebola epidemics.