September 18, 2014, Nairobi – The WHO Regional Director Dr Luis G Sambo has attributed the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in West Africa to weak health systems, negative traditional beliefs and practices, intense movement of infected people within countries and across borders.

He said the weak health infrastructure at local level had hampered the ability of governments and communities to cope with the complexity and severity of the outbreak. “Moreover, we are facing a disease for which we have neither medicine nor vaccine,” he said.

He was addressing an EAC Regional High Level Multi-Sectoral Ministerial Meeting on EVD held in Nairobi on September 16 and 17. The meeting brought together regional ministers responsible for health, transport, East African Affairs and Immigration. He said the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the worst ever reported Ebola epidemic and had affected five countries simultaneously and threatened regional and global health security. The five countries are Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal, with Democratic Republic of Congo as sixth country to experience the outbreak. Dr. Sambo said the epidemic in West Africa was unique, unpredictable and had continued for nine months.

EVD had also been characterized by intense transmission in the affected areas with increasing number of cases and deaths. “It has affected close to 5000 persons and claimed over 2500 lives, including 152 among health care workers,” he added.
He said the outbreak had a high potential for international spread and was raising political, economic and social concerns within the United Nations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and African Governments. The Ebola outbreak had also affected travel, trade and support to affected countries he added, with some placing travel restrictions on citizens of the affected countries. He said measures taken by some governments to close borders and airlines to suspend flights to and from the affected countries had compromised the deployment of international staff and supplies required for the outbreak. Such decisions were inconsistent with the recommendations of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Ebola outbreak. The World Health Organization recommends: “There should be no general ban on international travel or trade,” he said.

WHO had advised affected countries to conduct exit screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, to detect and manage any suspected case of Ebola, he said. This would help to prevent the international spread of Ebola infection. “Any person with an illness consistent with Ebola should not be allowed to travel unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation,” he added.

He said WHO had also recommended all countries to be prepared to detect, investigate and manage travellers coming from affected countries who arrived at international airports or major land crossing points with unexplained febrile illness consistent with EVD. He called on all East African Community countries to take a collective approach for accelerating the attainment of the International Health Regulation core capacities.

This approach would enable early detection and timely management of any health concern.He urged countries in the region to update and fund the implementation of their national preparedness plans in accordance with the guidelines already provided by WHO. “Please be reminded that it is important to involve different government sectors to ensure the required core competencies within a national inter-sectoral coordination mechanism,” he added.

The ministers signed a joint communique and adopted the Regional Ebola Emergency Preparedness and Response plan to help prevent the outbreak from spreading further. It includes the strengthening of their Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System at district, community and Points of Entry (PoE) for early detection and response to EVD outbreak. They also agreed to update and harmonize national epidemic response plans, securing funds and conducting simulation exercises.

They further agreed to encourage research on Ebola and other Viral Haemorrhagic fevers including research on medicines, serums and vaccines and pprovide high level national leadership and commitment in the management of Ebola preparedness and response.

The ministers also agreed to strengthen existing laboratory capacities to facilitate early detection and diagnosis of Ebola. The EAC Secretariat and institutions/agencies will coordinate the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action on EVD Emergency Preparedness and Response. Development partners and the international community will provide technical and financial support for implementation of regional and country emergency Preparedness and Response Plans to Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak. They will also ensure coordinated approach to resource mobilization and work with countries to progressively build capacities to manage disease of public health importance.

Addressing the meeting, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon James W. Macharia said the fact that Kenya was an air travel hub in the region had made the importation of Ebola Disease Virus are reality. This had necessitated the country to put policies in place to ensure early detection and isolation of any case that may land here. This included a multi -sectoral National Ebola Response Task Force to coordinate national preparedness and monitor the situation of the disease in the affected countries. The task force is multi-sectoral, he added. The Country had also developed an Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Response Contingency Plan among other measures.

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