Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya is expected in Nairobi on October 27 to commend Kenya’s response to the Ebola outbreak and discuss additional support required to contain the disease.
Kaseya announced the visit as part of a four-week tour across Africa focused on public health challenges, regional cooperation and strengthening the continent’s preparedness for disease outbreaks.
In a statement outlining his itinerary, Kaseya said he would engage governments, health authorities and partners to push for concrete commitments to address Africa’s public health priorities.
On October 28, he is scheduled to convene an extraordinary virtual ministerial meeting on Ebola to assess the situation, agree on necessary interventions and prepare for a meeting of African presidents.
He will travel to Abuja, Nigeria, on October 29 and 30 to extend support for the Ebola response and attend a high-level continental forum on community health workers.
The tour will continue in Accra, Ghana, on November 2, where Kaseya is expected to attend the Regional West African Ministerial Steering Committee meeting to discuss regional cooperation and preparedness.
He will then travel to Entebbe, Uganda, from November 3 to 4 for engagements with government officials and partners on cross-border coordination and Ebola preparedness.
In Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from November 5 to 7, Kaseya plans to meet national authorities to review progress made since his previous visit, with particular attention to financing for the Ebola response.
His itinerary also includes engagements in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from November 8 to 11, followed by the Regional Central African Ministerial Steering Committee meeting in Libreville, Gabon, from November 13.
The Africa CDC Governing Board is scheduled to meet on November 22, before Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosts the Conference on Public Health in Africa from November 23 to 27 under the theme “Africa Health Security and Sovereignty”.
Kaseya said the tour would focus on securing decisions, commitments and practical action to address the continent’s most pressing health challenges.
He emphasised that protecting Africa’s health security required collective responsibility and stronger cooperation among governments and regional institutions.
