The West African Alcohol Policy Alliance (WAAPA) engages the Africa CDC in Abuja on 26th November 2025 to introduce its work and explore opportunities for collaboration to advance alcohol control policies and legislations across the region.
During the meeting, WAAPA shared an overview of the alliance, highlighting its focus areas, key objectives, and ongoing projects across nine member countries. The discussion focused on the technical needs of several countries. For instance, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone require support on advancing national alcohol control legislations, while The Gambia, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Senegal need technical assistance to strengthen their national alcohol control policies and programs.
WAAPA also provided updates on its ongoing Civil Society Shadow Reports in collaboration with FORUT Norway, noting the report launched in Liberia and upcoming reports in Sierra Leone, Ghana, The Gambia, and Benin.
The Africa CDC team provided an overview of the institution, emphasizing its headquarters in Ethiopia and its five Regional Offices supporting Member States. They noted that Africa CDC provides technical assistance rather than funding and focuses on safeguarding the health of African citizens through prevention, detection, and early response. The team highlighted its work on non-communicable diseases, including alcohol and mental health, and its national presence across countries to provide direct support to national authorities.
Representatives of Africa CDC confirmed that their leadership and team will review WAAPA’s request and provide guidance on next steps. Africa CDC assured WAAPA of continued engagement and follow-ups to discuss potential areas of collaboration.
This meeting marks a positive step toward building collaboration between WAAPA and Africa CDC in advancing evidence-based alcohol control policy development and implementation in West Africa.
from left Dr Usman Shehu (Vaccine Distribution Technical Officer of Africa CDC West Africa) Mr Issah Ali (Head of Secretariat WAAPA) and Ms Chioma Cindy Dan Nwafor (Senior Technical Officer, Africa CDC West Africa).
