Deadline: July 21, 2026
Africa CDC invites expressions of interest from distinguished African leaders, experts, and advocates to serve as members of the Continental Immunization Advisory Council (CIAC). The CIAC is a high-level strategic advisory and action-oriented platform established to accelerate the delivery of the Africa CDC Continental Immunization Strategy 2026–2030 (CIS) and broader Continental Immunization priority issues in Africa. The CIS Strategy positions immunization as a foundational pillar of resilient, epidemic-ready primary health care, health security, equity, and sustainable development across Africa.
Roles of the CIAC Members
CIAC members will serve as senior strategic advisors, advocates, and accelerators for the implementation of the Continental Immunization Strategy. Members will be expected to bring independent judgment, leadership experience, technical insight, political influence, financing expertise, community perspectives, or institutional networks that can help drive momentum in advancing immunization in Africa.
Members will provide high-level strategic advice to Africa CDC on opportunities, risks, and bottlenecks affecting immunization systems; champion immunization as a priority for primary health care, health security, equity, and human capital; and support advocacy for sustainable domestic financing, partner alignment, and accountability. They may also be invited to contribute to targeted working groups, policy dialogues, problem solving, advocacy engagements, or follow-up actions linked to CIAC recommendations.
Members will provide:
- Strategic guidance on continental immunization priorities, risks, opportunities, and implementation of bottlenecks.
- Decisive action and problem solving including on complex issues requiring political commitment, leadership and ownership
- Advocacy support to keep immunization high on political, parliamentary, financing, partner, and public health agendas.
- Advice on sustainable financing, equity-focused delivery, zero-dose and under-immunized children, outbreak prevention, and integration with primary health care and health security systems.
- Support for accountability by reviewing progress updates and recommending actions to accelerate results linked with the Continental Immunization Forum.
- Use of members’ networks and influence to advance Continental Immunization priorities, while respecting Africa CDC and Member State leadership.
Eligibility
Africa CDC seeks expressions of interest from individuals with recognized leadership, credibility, and influence in areas that are critical to advancing immunization outcomes across Africa. CIAC membership will aim to bring together a bold and balanced mix of political leadership, technical expertise, financing insight, implementation experience, community voice, and strategic advocacy capacity.
- Political, parliamentary, diplomatic, or policy influence that can help elevate immunization on national, regional, and continental agendas.
- Senior leadership experience in public health, immunization, primary health care, health security, or broader health systems strengthening.
- Demonstrated expertise in immunization policy, vaccine-preventable disease control, zero-dose and under-immunized populations, outbreak prevention and response, or life-course vaccination.
- Experience in public finance, domestic resource mobilization, health financing, innovative financing, budgeting, investment cases, or sustainable financing for health and immunization.
- Experience with community engagement, civil society leadership, demand generation, risk communication, gender equity, youth engagement, or reaching underserved and marginalized populations.
- Strong understanding of implementation challenges in African contexts, including fragile, conflict-affected, cross-border, humanitarian, urban poor, remote, and hard-to-reach settings.
- Capacity to convene, advocate, build consensus, and mobilize action across governments, regional bodies, partners, communities, academia, the private sector, and civil society.
- Commitment to equity, accountability, transparency, ethical conduct, and effective solutions for sustainable immunization impact.
Application
Interested individuals are invited to submit an expression of interest package that includes:
- a brief biography and
- a letter of interest outlining their relevant experience, expertise, motivation for serving on the CIAC, and the specific contribution they would bring to advancing continental immunization priorities.
- Members must maintain a resolute urgency for immunization progress in Africa. Please do not apply if you do not bring this.
Submissions should be sent no later than 21 July 2026. Africa CDC will review submissions against the desired expertise, leadership profile, regional and gender balance, and overall composition required for an effective and representative Council.
For more information, visit CIAC Membership.
