On March 23, 2024, a historic meeting took place between Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya to discuss their partnership. Also present were Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, who accompanied Deputy Secretary Palm on a delegation to Ethiopia. This meeting with Africa CDC was part of a larger engagement that included meetings with Ethiopian health officials and program partners.
During the meeting, Africa CDC leadership expressed gratitude for HHS’ contributions, which have been crucial to their success. Deputy Secretary Palm and Director-General Kaseya highlighted the significant investments made by the U.S. government in the African region for health workers, data systems, laboratories, and other resources that have supported Africa’s global health security efforts. They also discussed a joint action plan that was recently adopted to establish working groups in key focus areas such as infectious diseases surveillance and outbreak response preparedness. Additionally, they talked about ongoing regional outbreaks such as cholera and mpox, and how HHS and Africa CDC can collaborate to enhance countries’ capacity to respond effectively.
The individuals present at the meeting included Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm, Assistant Secretary of Global Affairs Loyce Pace, CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, Africa CDC Acting Deputy Director-General Dr. Raji Tajudeen, and Africa CDC Chief of Staff Dr. Nsashi Ngongo.
This meeting marked a significant milestone in strengthening regional global health security through partnerships between HHS agencies and African organizations like Africa CDC.
In conclusion, the meeting between HHS officials led by Deputy Secretary Palm
