The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO was founded in 1960 under Resolution 2.31 of the UNESCO General Conference. It operates with functional autonomy within UNESCO to "promote international cooperation and coordinate programs in research, services, and capacity building to enhance knowledge of the ocean and coastal resources, and apply this knowledge to improve management, sustainable development, marine environmental protection, and decision-making processes for its Member States." Within its first year, six African countries—Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia—joined as members. As more African nations gained independence, membership grew, reaching a current total of 37, accounting for nearly one-quarter of the Commission’s membership.

The establishment of the Sub-Commission is fully in line with the African Union’s regional integration principle, and will build on the strong marine and ocean networks, as well as the sub-regional programmes and organizations. It will strengthen IOC’s presence in Africa, increase the effectiveness of its actions, and give concrete effect to the priority accorded to Africa by UNESCO. It is an important milestone in the development of marine sciences in the region, and marks a significant transformation in the way that the Commission engages with Member States from the region. An IOC Regional Office for Africa has been established at the UNESCO Nairobi Office to act as the Technical Secretariat for the Sub-Commission.

The Bureau of the Sub-Commission consists of the Chair and three Vice-Chairs, elected by the Sub-Commission, and operates in accordance with the Guidelines for the Structure and Responsibilities of the Subsidiary Bodies of the Commission. The elected members of the IOCAFRICA Bureau are:

• Prof. Kouadio AFFIAN (Chair),
• Dr. Ir. Zacharie SOHOU (Vice Chair, Group A),
• Cândida Inês Sete (Vice Chair, Group B),
• Dr. Suzan M. El-Gharabawy (Vice Chair, Group C),
• Dr Karim HILMI (IOC Vice Chair Group V)

The first session of the IOC Sub-Commission for Africa and the Adjacent Island States, meeting on 2–3 May 2012 at the United Nations Office at Nairobi established an Intersessional Working Group comprising of the IOCAFRICA Chair and three Vice-Chairs, IOC Vice-Chair Group V and experts co-opted as necessary to develop the draft Strategic Plan for the Sub-Commission for the period 2014-2021. The session recommended that the Inter-sessional Working Group undertakes wide consultation taking into account the current challenges and the regional and international framework within which the Sub-Commission was created, in order to come up with the appropriate draft.