The African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group), The OOASWAHO || West African Health Organization (WAHO) and Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) led by Ibrahima Cheikh DIONG (UN-ASG-DG), Professor Stanley Okolo (DG) and Dr Amadou Alpha SALL (Administrator and DG), respectively, have decided to form an alliance to help strengthen their collaboration. The Alliance whose executives held their first meeting today is to be facilitated and coordinated by the Dakar-based AFRICATALYST led by its CEO Daouda Sembene, PhD.
 
The three institutions, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be working together to build regional collaboration to improve capacities for epidemic preparedness and response, leveraging on the expertise and synergies of each of the partners. The aim is to establish a broad stakeholder partnership beyond the three institutions which will, among other things, contribute to a Gender-responsive mechanism for disease and epidemics in the ECOWAS region.