Ms. Akhona Tshangela joined the Africa CDC in 2016 and is one of the first staff members, she played a critical role in launching Africa CDC and developing its first programs. Currently for the COVID-19 response she is the leads and co-chairs the Sciences, Standards and Regulations technical working group; under the Africa Task Force on Coronavirus (AFTCOR), a joint partnership between Africa CDC and Member States, supporting Member States with making science based policy decisions. Incorporated in this working groups is the knowledge management platforms sharing up to date scientific information to Member States; the Africa CDC Modeling group identifying ways to support Member States in projecting the trajectory of the pandemic as well as providing sound, scientific based guidance on standards and regulations for research and innovation. She is also the program manager for the Mortality Surveillance Program. In this role, she is responsible for designing and executing the program’s strategy for understanding the numbers and causes of death in African countries and improving the use of this data for decision making.