AU Af-STAG was formed by the African Union Commission (AUC) , Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE) – Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Unit

A Call of Expression of Interest (EoI) for the nomination of the Board of the Af-STAG was circulated widely to the African public. A Note Verbale was also circulated to the Embassies of African Union member states accredited to the African Union in Addis Ababa. The EoI attracted applications from scientists across Africa. Through a transparent process that involved independent scientists and AU Commission, 15 members of Af- STAG representing institutions from fifteen (15) countries and five (5) regions of Africa were nominated. As per the TORs of the group, the board will serve a 2-year term (2023 to 2025).

The purpose of the African Science and Technology Advisory Group (Af-STAG) is to provide scientific and technical support to the African countries for the implementation of the Disaster Risk Reduction agenda in Africa. The Af-STAG, in a short-term will support generation of data and analyses, scientific and technical information for effective implementation of Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030, and the Agenda 2063. The Af-STAG will strengthen evidence-based decision making.