Africa CDC renews partnership with Illumina to advance pathogen genomics

ETHIOPIA—The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and Illumina, a global leader in sequencing technology, have renewed their collaboration to advance the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI).

 This initiative aims to strengthen public health surveillance and laboratory networks across Africa by expanding access to next-generation sequencing (NGS) tools and expertise.

The partnership builds on four years of joint efforts to address COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and endemic health threats such as tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera.

H.E. Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC, emphasized the transformative role of genomics in disease surveillance.

He stated that the collaboration would integrate NGS into routine public health systems, to equip all 55 National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) with operational NGS capacity by the end of 2025.

This capability will enhance Africa’s ability to detect and respond effectively to emerging health threats.

Since the partnership began in March 2021, Illumina has contributed significantly by providing NGS platforms, reagents, and training support.

Additional sequencing instruments and reagents will be distributed to approximately 25 African countries as part of the renewed commitment.

Belinda Ngongo, Director of Global Health at Illumina, highlighted the company’s dedication to improving global health through genomics.

She noted that expanding access to cutting-edge sequencing technologies would enable countries to rapidly detect and respond to health threats, ultimately saving lives.

Africa PGI, launched in October 2020 as a flagship initiative of Africa CDC, focuses on integrating pathogen genomics and bioinformatics into public health systems.

This integration allows for rapid responses to infectious disease threats, improved diagnostics, treatments, and vaccine development.

 The initiative envisions building a resilient and sustainable molecular diagnostic and genomic surveillance ecosystem across Africa.

The collaboration underscores the importance of genomics in addressing public health challenges.

By democratizing access to NGS technology and fostering capacity-building efforts like training programs, Africa CDC and Illumina are paving the way for a future where genomics is central to disease prevention and control on the continent.

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