The Robert Koch Institute (RKI): main building in Berlin. more
Germany’s Public Health institute RKI monitors the population’s health and wellbeing. more
The Robert Koch Institute is the German government's central institution for the identification, surveillance and prevention of infectious diseases in the Portfolio of the German Ministry of Health. more
Côte d’Ivoire, a country in Western Sub-Saharan Africa, and the RKI are connected by a partnership that dates back to research on the origins of zoonoses that was initiated by Prof. Dr. Fabian Leendertz in the early 2000s. Fabian Leendertz has left the RKI and now acts as founding director of the Helmholtz-Instituts für One Health (HIOH) in Greifswald. Through various research projects, Côte d’Ivoire developed into a focus country of RKI’s efforts in protecting health globally. In June 2023, these efforts resulted in three important milestones in this collaboration led by the ZIG 4 unit (“Public Health Laboratory Support”).
At RKI’s long-term partner site, the University Teaching Hospital (CHU) of Bouaké, supported by the RKI a new molecular diagnostics and genomic sequencing laboratory was built in 2021 to conduct training and research on infectious diseases. The laboratory was funded by the Global Health Protection Programme (GHPP) and will lay the foundations for future collaboration and teaching activities for technical and scientific staff working in the public health sector in the West African region. It will also serve as a basis for strengthening the cooperation with CHU Bouaké’s long-standing German partners, the RKI and the HIOH. The opening ceremony on 19 June 2023 was accompanied by a speech by the Ivorian Minister of Health M. Pierre Dimba in the presence of over 200 representatives from the Ivorian health sector and the partner site.
A lab expert from ZIG 4 gives the Ivorian Minister of Health a tour of the new teaching and research laboratory in Bouaké. Source: RKI
The PAcCI project aims to strengthen public health capacities in Côte d’Ivoire at local and national levels by reinforcing the existing partnership between the CHU Bouaké, the Université Alassane Ouattara in Bouaké, the RKI and the HIOH. On this basis, four thematic working groups are addressing major public health needs in Côte d’Ivoire, in particular 1) molecular and genomic surveillance and the study of pathogens with epidemic potential, 2) surveillance of antimicrobial- resistant bacteria, 3) strengthening infection prevention and control capacities, and 4) integrating disease surveillance into national health policies. The common objective of this project is to strengthen national capacities in infectious disease surveillance and prevention, and to disseminate this knowledge throughout the West African region. In the first project meeting, altogether 30 representatives from all partner institutions jointly discussed forthcoming activities, timelines and research within the PAcCI framework.
Kick-off meeting of the PAcCI project team in Côte d'Ivoire in June 2023. Source: RKI
The IGS project is a joint effort between the RKI and the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. and aims to improve public health decision making on the national and international level by enhancing national genomic surveillance capacities. The project foresees capacity building activities to support the development of countries’ abilities to detect, monitor, and respond to infectious pathogens, to fortify connections between different public health disciplines, and to facilitate a policy dialogue to translate genomic and surveillance data into public health action. The project has been presented to key national stakeholders in preparation of a consultative meeting that is planned for the end of 2023. Aside from the WHO country office, these included the National Hygiene Institute (INHP), which is in charge of national disease surveillance, and the National Public Health Institute (INSP), which is in charge of training.
Date: 01.08.2023
