Abidjan, Aug 19 (IANS) Specialists from the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) have reaffirmed their dedication in Abidjan to strengthening the response to epidemics and different public well being emergencies.
Well being specialists, representatives of member states and technical companions are taking part in a four-day workshop from Tuesday, centered on the technical validation of the third Regional Strategic Plan for Epidemic Preparedness and Response and different Public Well being Emergencies of the ECOWAS Regional Heart for Surveillance and Illness Management (RCSDC).
“West Africa has confronted well being crises of outstanding magnitude lately,” Mamadou Samba, Cote d’Ivoire’s Director Normal of well being, stated on behalf of the nation’s minister of well being and public hygiene.
“No nation can successfully handle well being emergencies by itself. Prevention, early detection and an efficient response require each sturdy nationwide well being programs and regional coordination,” Samba stated, including that the assembly goals to strengthen well being safety within the sub-region by offering a brand new framework for motion in 2027-2031, Xinhua information company reported.
Mamadou Diarrassouba, Government Director of the ECOWAS RCSDC, famous that the sub-region continues to face a number of well being threats, together with yellow fever, meningitis, cholera, measles and viral hemorrhagic fevers, that are compounded by local weather change and zoonotic dangers.
In June, ECOWAS had acknowledged that it’s strengthening preparedness and prevention measures to scale back the chance of Ebola virus illness being imported into West Africa.
“Despite the fact that the chance evaluation exhibits that West Africa stays comparatively spared at this stage, we should stay vigilant,” Diarrassouba stated on the opening of a gathering of specialists on Ebola preparedness and response methods in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
In response to Diarrassouba, ECOWAS member states have activated their contingency plans and strengthened surveillance at airports, border posts and different strategic factors of entry following the Ebola virus illness outbreak at present reported within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
He recalled that the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa confirmed that, in well being safety, “preparedness prices lower than response,” stressing the necessity to act early to avoid wasting lives.
The 2014-2016 outbreak, the deadliest Ebola epidemic on document, primarily affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing greater than 11,000 folks and inserting extreme pressure on well being programs within the area.
