Institutionalising the strengthening of human resources in pandemic prevention in ECOWAS

Since 2016, the Regional Programme Support to Pandemic Prevention in the ECOWAS Region (RPPP), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ GmbH, has been supporting the ECOWAS Commission and its specialised agencies West African Health (WAHO) and Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (RCSDC) in supporting ECOWAS Member States to better implement the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) with regard to prevention, detection and control of outbreaks of infectious diseases by improving selected IHR core capacities at regional and national level. From 2016 to 2021 it operated in four output areas aligned with these core capacities, implementing measures both at regional and at national level. Since 2019, the project is co-financed by the European Union to strengthen the RCSDC and its network of national coordinating institutions (NCIs) of the 15 ECOWAS Member States. Since July 2021, GIZ is implementing RPPP2 as a follow-on project building on the achievements attained previously on multiple levels. While substantial improvements have been made since the Ebola crisis in the national and regional preparedness and response capacities, the need for further support remains as the successful prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks requires a coordinated, multisectoral approach. The integrated approach to human, animal and environmental health - One Health (OH) - has gained prominence in ECOWAS but is not yet fully functional. The project"s objective is to strengthen the OH-oriented pandemic prevention and control system in the region.