Africa CDC today announced the launch of the African Strategic Advisory Group on Genomics (ASAG), a new continental advisory mechanism established to provide independent, multidisciplinary, and trusted technical guidance on the strategic governance and implementation of genomics across Africa.
The launch of ASAG marks a pivotal step in advancing Africa CDC's vision to democratize access to genomics for better public health programming, precision public health, integrated disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and response, and the development and local manufacturing of medical countermeasures. The Group will support Africa CDC in ensuring that genomics is deployed ethically, responsibly, and for maximum public good, with African leadership, ownership, and equitable benefit-sharing at the centre of continental genomics initiatives.
Africa has made major progress in expanding genomic capacity through the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative, which has strengthened sequencing, laboratory, bioinformatics, and data systems across the continent. These investments have supported the use of genomics for the surveillance and characterization of public health threats, including mpox, cholera, antimicrobial resistance, malaria, and other epidemic-prone diseases. ASAG will help consolidate these gains while guiding the broader application of pathogen and human genomics to address Africa's priority health challenges, including the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
ASAG is aligned with Africa CDC's broader agenda of Africa Health Security and Sovereignty, which emphasizes stronger African institutions, continental preparedness and response capacity, sustainable health financing, digital transformation, local manufacturing, and pooled procurement. Through its advisory role, ASAG will provide recommendations on strategic priorities, harmonized standards, capacity building, technology transfer, data governance, privacy, intellectual property, ethics, and partnerships to strengthen genomics as a cornerstone of Africa's health security and development.
The inaugural eight-member ASAG brings together renowned African and global experts across pathogen genomics, human genomics, bioinformatics, clinical genetics, precision medicine, public health, data governance, ethics, and capacity building: Prof. Christian Happi, Prof. Ambroise Wonkam, Prof. Leon Mutesa, Prof. Tulio de Oliveira, Prof. Ghada El-Kamah, Prof. Nicky Mulder, Prof. Charles Rotimi, and Dr. Yosr Hamdi.
At its inaugural meeting, ASAG members elected Prof. Christian Happi as Chair and Prof. Ghada El-Kamah as Co-Chair. Their leadership will guide the Group's work in providing independent, evidence-based, and Africa-centred advice to Africa CDC, while supporting collaboration across African Union Member States, scientific institutions, public health agencies, and partners.
As an Africa CDC-constituted strategic advisory mechanism, ASAG will operate with independence, transparency, accountability, scientific integrity, inclusivity, and equity. Members will serve in their personal capacity and provide non-binding recommendations to inform Africa CDC's continental genomics programmes, while Africa CDC retains responsibility for prioritization, decision-making, and implementation in line with its mandate.
Through this initiative, Africa CDC is taking a decisive step toward a future in which genomics drives innovation, improves preparedness for emerging threats, enables precision public health, strengthens health systems, and delivers better and more equitable health outcomes for all Africans.
About Africa CDC
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is the public health agency of the African Union. As an autonomous institution, Africa CDC supports AU Member States to strengthen health systems, improve disease surveillance, and enhance emergency preparedness and response. For more information, visit: http://www.africacdc.org and follow Africa CDC on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and YouTube.
