Africa and Global Health

The CSIS Africa Program, working closely with the Global Health Policy Center, provides a platform to highlight African priorities and perspectives in global health debates. By engaging in dialogues with health experts, policymakers, and African leaders, the Program focuses on three broad areas of importance to U.S. policy: first, increasing African responsibility in designing and implementing national health strategies; second, exploring ways to build African health capacity which will provide successful and sustainable options for future needs in Africa; and third, how the U.S. is engaging large, strategic African partner governments on global health concerns, in particular South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola.

The Africa Program has a long-term focus on the challenge of addressing HIV/AIDS in Africa. Jennifer Cooke, program director, co-authored a study by the Institute of Medicine on the long-term implications of HIV, Preparing for the Future of HIV/AIDS in Africa: A Shared Responsibility. The paper calls for a renewed emphasis on reducing the rate of new infections, promoting more efficient models of care, and encouraging shared responsibility between African nations and the U.S. for treatment and prevention efforts.