The CDC Foundation will fund a four-year programme to improve tobacco control and surveillance in sub-Sahara with a USD 4.6 million (EUR 3.7 million) grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the group said.

CDC Foundation cited a Tobacco Control study that the smoking rate in sub-Saharan countries will rise from about 16 per cent (2010) to 22 per cent by 2030 without comprehensive tobacco prevention and control policies. The money will be used in cooperation with the World Health Organisation’s regional office for Africa to create “nationally representative data to track tobacco use and trends”.
Established by Congress, the Foundation assists the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by forging public-private partnerships to support the work of the CDC, which is an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC Foundation manages programmes in the US and 73 other countries.