The Centre for Tobacco Control in Africa has been hailed for coming up with a great repositioning concept that will steer the Centre to great strides in addressing the TC changing needs of Africa. This was during the Phase II 3rd sitting of the Steering Committee at the Lake Victoria Serena Hotel, in Kigo, near Kampala, February 27-28, 2017. The Committee chaired by Makerere’s University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe unanimously endorsed the recommendations of the recently concluded CTCA regional meeting that included the Centre’s repositioning. They noted that this is a wise idea that will transform the Centre into a ‘go to’ in response to the different needs of Africa, considering that countries are at varrying stages of implementation.
The members strongly recommended that the Centre focuses on the key areas of all the WHO FCTC Articles as they are all proven TC interventions. The need for developing a strong research agenda for Africa was also emphasized as a strategy for pooling local evidence that will drive TC Policy in Africa. They further recommended that the Centre considers hosting the Africa Tobacco Control Scientific Conference to deliberate on tobacco control issues in the region prior to the World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
The Chairperson of the Committee Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said he was pleased with the Centre’s contribution to tobacco control, adding that the enactment of the Gambia law in December 2016, as well as the implementation process of the TC law in Uganda is a great positive step.
CTCA’s Director and Dean Makerere University School of Public Health, Prof. William Bazeyo thanked the members for embracing the repositioning concept and for their great input and promised that with CTCA’s new management, the Centre will surely deliver on these recommendations.
The new Manager of the Centre, Dr. Jim Arinaitwe pledged the commitment the Secretariat to transform the repositioning concept into a reality. He said the proposed hub concept is geared toward widening the Centre’s scope of operation to ensure that more countries are reached out and that the varying country needs are addressed.
The Steering Committee is the highest governing body of the Center and is comprised of Representatives from CTCA’s phase II target countries including Botswana, the Gambia, Gabon, Niger, Kenya and Uganda the Host.