The Africa CDC West Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (WA RCC) has taken its fight against cross-border diseases further as it convened the inaugural meeting of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee (ReTAC).
The meeting that was held between 30th September and 1st October 2024 had in attendance representatives of Africa Union (AU) member States and health development partners in West Africa.
12 out of 15 AU member States were represented at the regional meeting.
Herilinda Temba, the Acting Regional Director of WA RCC, in her opening remark, emphasized that the overall objective of the regional convergence underscored the importance of the inauguration of the Africa CDC–WA RCC ReTAC.
While noting that three out of the five RCCs have an established ReTAC, she explained that RCC West Africa is now the 4th to have an established ReTAC.
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According to her, the ReTAC will serve as one of the bodies responsible for accountability and will provide technical guidance in the organizational structure of the RCC.
It is also expected that the roadmap developed will guide the implementation of agreed-upon action items, aimed at strengthening RCC operations in the region.
The member States present at the meeting unanimously elected the Gambian representative, Adama Drammeh, who is the Permanent Secretary II of the Ministry of Health as the Chair of ReTAC while the Cabo Verde representative, Domingos Veiga Varela was also elected as the Vice Chair.