Nathan A. Paxton, PhD
Senior Director, Global Biological Policy and Programs
Africa Health Security Index
Improving epidemic and pandemic preparedness and strengthening biosecurity in Africa.
Challenge
No country is fully prepared for future pandemic or epidemic threats, and African nations face unique challenges and opportunities in building resilient health systems, sustaining investments and core capacities, and strengthening health security governance.
Action
Work with African experts and international stakeholders to build an African Health Security Index to assess national capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to high-consequence biological threats.
Results
Enable leaders to measure, finance, and advance improvements in health security and create an evidence-based accountability framework to track progress toward better epidemic and pandemic preparedness in Africa.
Details
Project Staff
What is the AHS Index?
The Africa Health Security (AHS) Index is a comprehensive, independent assessment of epidemic and pandemic preparedness across Africa.
Why is it needed?
The world remains dangerously unprepared for the next biological threat. Despite meaningful action taken by African countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index indicated that the continent is unprepared to sufficiently prevent, detect, and respond to high-consequence biological threats. The average overall GHS Index score for African nations is 29 out of a possible 100 which leaves significant opportunity for improvement.
Leaders across the world continue to neglect investing in epidemic and pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, regardless of their income level. Political will and sustainable financial resources will be critical in building lasting capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging biological threats.
What does the AHS Index do?
Created on the recommendation of African public health leaders, the AHS Index will provide new data on health security targets across the continent, including new preparedness indicators at the intersection of health and climate security.
The AHS Index will use innovative data collection and analytic approaches to enhance the Global Health Security (GHS) Index. It will enable African leaders to track the impact of programs to improve health security on the continent and identify opportunities to advance epidemic and pandemic preparedness. In collaboration with African partners, the AHS Index will evaluate data from a broad set of health security indicators, building on the GHS Index framework, and will include a focused analysis of African priorities:
- Preventing accidental and deliberate biological events (biosafety and biosecurity)
- Detecting and reporting emerging outbreaks (biosurveillance)
- Bolstering medical countermeasure development and deployment
- Assessing how climate change affects health security on the African continent and in subregions
- Evaluating how the African continent’s five regions have built regional capacities to augment national health security infrastructure
The AHS Index will:
- Create political accountability to incentivize governments to invest in pandemic preparedness capacity within their borders.
- Provide data for donors and governments to make evidence-based decisions to prioritize resource allocation more effectively, maximizing the impact of investments.
- Set a standard for biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.
The AHS Index Reference Group
The Africa Health Security Index Reference Group is a group of African experts providing strategic direction for the project, ensuring that it effectively serves the needs of African public health and health security leaders. The group is chaired by Mr. Peter Babigumira Ahabwe, a Friend of the Chair for the Biological Weapons Convention’s Working Group and an Epidemic Intelligence Analyst at the Uganda National Institute of Public Health. Members include:
- Prof. Ali Asy, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egypt
- Mr. Donewell Bangure, Laboratory Systems and Networks Division African Union, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Ethiopia
- Mr. Ian Peter Busuulwa, Biological Threat Reduction, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Kenya
- Dr. Rym Benkhalifa, Laboratory of Biomolecules, Venoms and Theranostic Applications Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia
- Mrs. Idosie Kenfack, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Burundi
- Dr. Issa Makumbi, Uganda National Institute of Public Health; Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC), Uganda
- Dr. Talkmore Maruta, African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), Zambia
- Mr. Zibusiso Masuku, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, National Health Laboratory Service, South Africa
- Dr. Augustin Mouinga-Ondeme, Département de Virologie, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon
- Dr. Tolbert Nyenswah, PandemicShield, LLC; Department of International Health, John Hopkins University, Liberia
- Dr. Chinwe Lucia Ochu, Planning, Research and Statistics, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), Nigeria (currently in Washington, DC)
- Dr. Donald I. Ofili, West Africa Regional Technical Working Group on Biosafety and Biosecurity; MLSCN Accreditation Service, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, Nigeria
- Dr. Judy Omumbo, Science Solutions for Emerging Global Priorities, Science for Africa Foundation, Kenya
- Dr. Samira Senouci, Moroccan Biosafety Association; Microbiology and Health Security Department, National Institute for Hygiene, Ministry of Health, Morocco (Ret.)
- Ms. Lizeka Tandwa, Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
- Dr. Oyewale Tomori, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria
Individuals on the AHS Index Reference Group are experts providing guidance in their personal capacities or in their capacities as representatives of advising organizations. The judgments and recommendations reflected in the AHS Index do not necessarily reflect the views of panel members or their respective employers, other affiliations, or governments.
Partners
The AHS Index is developed by NTI | bio, the Brown University Pandemic Center, Economist Impact, and Science for Africa Foundation, in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), and University of Tunis El Manar (Tunis, Tunisia). Funding is provided by the Gates Foundation.
Brown University Pandemic Center
| Jennifer Nuzzo, PhD Director Brown University Pandemic Center |
Wilmot James, PhD Senior Advisor Brown University Pandemic Center |
Beth Cameron, PhD Senior Advisor Brown University Pandemic Center |
| Leah Lovgren Associate Director for Research and Program Management Brown University Pandemic Center |
Carly Gasca Project Director Brown University Pandemic Center |
Margaret Dunne PhD Candidate; Index Data Analyst Brown University Pandemic Center |
Economist Impact
| Ken Lane Vice President for Global Partnerships Economist Impact |
Elly Vaughan Principal – Health Policy Economist Impact |
Ailia Haider Manager – Policy & Insights Economist Impact |
Science for Africa Foundation
| Judy Omumbo, PhD Head of Partnerships & Resource Mobilization Science for Africa Foundation |
Evelyn Gitau, PhD Chief Scientific Officer Science for Africa Foundation |
Tom Kariuki, PhD Chief Executive Officer Science for Africa Foundation |
University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)
| Lizeka Tandwa Lecturer Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand |
Siposihle Bungane Associate Researcher Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand |
Catarina Sakaita Associate Researcher Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand |
| Tauseef Ally Associate Researcher Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, University of the Witwatersrand |
University of Tunis El Manar
| Hanene Boussi, PhD Professor; Vice President in charge of Sustainable Impact and Rankings Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Chamseddine Barki, PhD Assistant Professor in Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering / Digital Health Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Rym Ben Khalifa, PhD Professor Pasteur Institute – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
| Sabri Barbaria, PhD Assistant Professor in Medical Informatics Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Souhir Chabchoub, PhD Assistant Professor in Biophysics Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Halima Mahjoubi, PhD Professor Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
| Nesrine ben El Hadj Hassine PhD candidate; Researcher – Nurse Anesthesiologist Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) and Hospital Mongi Slim La Marsa |
Mariem Chouchen PhD Candidate; Researcher Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Leila Battikh Head of the Academic Staff Affairs University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
| Majed Harchi Head of Informatics Office University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
Moez Chafra, PhD President and Professor in Engineering, Biomechanics and Biomaterials University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) |
The AHS Index will release in 2026.
2026
NTI | bio Engages Global Leaders at GHS2026 in Kuala Lumpur
NTI | bio experts will take part in several GHS2026 sessions, including a preview of findings from the forthcoming Africa Health Security (AHS) Index and a timely discussion on strengthening health security partnerships amid declining resources.
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9:45AM PT
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