EAC Region intensifies preparedness as Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo near borderline

Posted in Health

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, Tanzania, 5^th October, 2018: The East African Community (EAC) Partner States have intensfied efforts for preparedness and response following the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In a two day joint technical meeting involving the EAC Partner States (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) and the DRC held on 2^nd and 3^rd october 2018 in Entebbe, Uganda, all states reported a high alert position.

In the meeting, which was organised by the EAC Secretariat with support from various partners, the EAC Acting Head of Health, Dr. Michael Katende observed that the risk of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) for EAC Partner States was real and high. The Risk of EVD outbreak is hightened especially for those Partner States that share the border with DRC  due to high of volume of people moving across the borders for trade and other reasons, but also due to the high Influx of refugees, into the EAC region.

At the meeting, the DRC was represented by a 12 man delegation, with a wealth of experience.

The meeting discussed the strengthenining of cross border disease surveillence and emergency preparedness and response.  The meeting noted that the current outbreak in Beni town of the DRC was closer to Uganda’s border hence more efforts for active surveillance. Key to sucess of the efforts employed so far is that there were no confirmed cases of EVD in any of the EAC Partner States.    

According to the delegation from DRC  and  World Health Organisation (WHO), the current EVD outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in DRC was escalated by worsening insecurity, mistrust from affected communities, and extension into previously unaffected areas. As of 2^ndOctober 2018, a total of 161 case had been reported, 129 confirmations and a case fatality rate of 57%.

All EAC Partner States at the meeting are currently on a high alert following the July 28^th announcement of EVB outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces by WHO,  and have undertaken various preparedness and response activities in case of an outbreak. All countries have undertaken evaluation of their national contigency plans for outbreak response and the capacities to implement them, activated emergency coordination structures with Rapid Response Teams (RRT)  at all levels to monitor and respond in case of an outbreak. Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) have also been established to support the structures.

The staff managing the EOC and RRT have been trained and provided with appropriate equipment to detect and manage the outbreaks. Ambulances for patient transportation, sample storage and transportation, isolation/quarantine facilities, treatment facilities following International Health Regulations (IHR) have also been put in place.

Further the EAC Partner States and DRC have continued to build capacity of frontline health workers in high risk districts, including comunity health workers and security personnel.

In an effort to detect and quickly respond to an outbreak, the EAC Partner States have mapped areas, which have been categorised as High, Medium or Low risk and respoense mechanisms have been put in place. These include among others; Airports, crossborder entry and exit points and high economic activity areas like markets.

Border entry screening at all major border points in all  high-risk districts have also been established. High and medium risk areas are being given special attention in terms of training of staff, supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), continuious screening among others. Using volunteers, and infrared thermometers, everyone crossing into Uganda from DRC is screened for body temperature. Those found with high temperature are further screened for Ebola-like symptoms.

On average, the busy border screening points receive 5,000 people, however during market days, the number grows tremendously; for instance, Mpondwe border point registers over 20,000 people during the market days - every Tuesday and Friday.

With support from WHO, the Republics of Uganda and Rwanda have also considered and plan to use of the Ebola Zaire Vaccine, specifically targeting frontline health workers who are managing the situation.

While the Republic of Burundi has employed using Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDTs) to screen/test for EVD. The Republic of South Sudan (RSS) has made arrangements to refer samples to Uganda Virus Research Institute(UVRI) for testing.

In preparation for any suspected case, Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) have also been set up at Bundibugyo General Hospital, Bwera Hospital in Kasese, Rwebisengo Health Center in Ntoroko district and another is under construction at Naguru Friendship Hospital in Kampala.

These are fully equipped and on standby to manage any alert or suspect or confirmed case.

Risk communication and community engagement are also ongoing. Teams are engaged in door to door visits and distribution of Information Education Communication (IEC) material. Further to this, messages are also running on TV and radio to reach the wider public within and outside the high-risk districts.

The Public is urged to be on high alert too by observing a high sense of personal hygiene, avoid overcrowded places, direct contact with other people and to report cases of high temprature and bleeding from ears, nostrils and mouth to the nearest health facilities.

- ENDS-

 For more information please contact: 
Owora Richard Othieno, 
Head of Department, 
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs; 
Tel: +255 784 835021; 
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified

East African Community Partner States gather to test and improve Outbreak preparedness

Posted in Health

East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 14^th September, 2018:  More than 100 EAC experts, citizens and guests gathered in Arusha on 4-5 September 2018 as part of a table top exercise (TTX) to identify opportunities for improvement in emergency preparedness and response. A TTX is a role-playing activity, which uses a fictitious story to test processes and mechanisms during an emergency.

In the TTX, the fictitious story focused on an imaginary outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. In addition to Kenyan and Tanzanian representatives, three of six EAC Partner States – Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda – participated as observers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) facilitated the exercise, with support from the government of Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fürInternationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Rift Valley Fever is a disease that impacts both animals and humans, and thus requires a “One Health” approach, which integrates both human health and animal health expertise. The “One Health” approach acknowledges and respects the connection between the health of humans, animals, and the environment.

“The TTX was particularly timely, as our region is frequently impacted by outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever and other diseases of animal origin – including Ebola,” said Dr. Michael Katende of the EAC Secretariat. “The Secretariat honors the dedication of all in involved in “One Health” and the TTX, as we work together to address our shared regional concerns.”

The TTX provided an opportunity to train participants on their roles and responsibilities in preparedness and response – including risk and crisis communication, stakeholder coordination, logistics, management, and leadership.

The meeting attracted some 100 representatives from EAC Partner States, including Ministries of East African Affairs, Health, Agriculture, Tourism, and the Environment. The attendees included representatives from the military, tourism and trade, business, human and animal health, public medical facilities, Ports of Entry, communities, religious leaders and media.

External participants came from regional and international organisations, including the African Union, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO/ECTAD), the German Federal Friedrich Loeffler Institute for Research on Animal Health, KfW/Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), One Health Central and Southern Africa (OHCEA) and Public Health England (PHE).

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified

3rd East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition to hold session on Health

Posted in Health

• Technology can bolster access, use and improve performance of health services in EAC
• Executive Secretary of the East Africa Health Research Commission to speak at the 3^rd 3^rd East Africa Business and Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition

Arusha, Tanzania: 12^th September, 2018: A prosperous and healthy region is one where each EAC Partner State can participate fully in trade and industry within an environment which sustains and nourishes its people, free of health threats and capable of providing universal care to all.

Porous borders and the fluid movement of people underscore the need for a regional approach to tracking and responding to regional health priority needs while laying the groundwork for a robust and sustainable regional economy. Technology can help to strengthen regional health systems by bolstering the access, use, and improve performance of health services.

The 3^rd East Africa Business and Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition will have multiple sessions including a jointly organised health session by East Africa Business Council (EABC) and East African Health Platform (EAHP).

Prof. Gibson Kibiki, Executive Secretary, East Africa Health Research Commission (EAHRC) is one of the key high level policy decision makers expected to speak during the sector session on health at the 3rd East African Business & Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition. The conference is scheduled to take place on 30^th -31^st October in Kampala, Uganda.

Prof. Kibiki will shed light on the Digital Regional East African Community Health (Digital REACH) Initiative.“Digital Regional East African Community Health is a ground-breaking initiative within the East African Community (EAC) that will implement ICT across all dimensions of the health sector in East Africa” said Prof. Gibson Kibiki, EAHRC Executive Secretary.

Other key industry champions expected lead discussions and  identify missing links to promote an enabling environment for digital health in the EAC include Dr Amit Thakker, Chairman, East African Health Platform, Anne Therese Ndong-Jatta Director, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and Dr Roger Ciza Executive Director, Health Healing Network Burundi.

This year’s East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition will focus on the Digital Economy and evaluate how the EAC policies and regulatory frameworks are currently set to spur growth and enhance the Integration process.

“An important dimension and benefit of creating an enabling environment for digital health in the EAC is in stimulating private-sector investment.” said Prof. Gibson Kibiki, EAHRC Executive Secretary.

Private sector can play an important role in addressing complex, systemic challenges complementing government efforts.

“Tackling issues such as policies, infrastructure and making a clear business case for partnerships and investment can help bring the influence and strength of the private sector to invest in digital health,” said Ms. Lilian Awinja, EABC CEO.

 The conference sector session and parallel exhibition will showcase investment opportunities in the region as well as innovative market developments in the areas of Internet of Things, energy, agri-business, health, mobility, fin-tech and e-commerce.

 Registration is open, visit: http://eabc-online.com/entrepreneurship/

 -ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About East African Business and Entrepreneurship Conference and Exhibition

The East African Business & Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition is an annual event rotating in all Partner States of the East African Community (EAC), co-organized in collaboration with the respective EAC Investment Promotion Authorities. The first East African Business & Entrepreneurship Conference & Exhibition was successfully held in October 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya while the second took place in November 2017 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The conference aims to enhance policy predictability, increase business confidence, nature entrepreneurship, innovation and attract more cross border and foreign direct investments into the EAC region. It convenes together high-level government and private sector decision makers from the EAC Partner States, entrepreneurs and investors from the region and abroad to discuss policies and legislations as well as chart out appropriate recommendations in a bid to improve the EAC business environment. Visit: http://eabc-online.com/entrepreneurship/

About East African Business Council

The East African Business Council (EABC) is the regional apex body of Private Sector associations and Corporates from the 6 East African Countries. It was established in 1997 to foster the interests of the Private Sector in the Integration process of the East African Community. Being the representative of Private Sector associations in the region, EABC was granted observer status in organs and activities of the East African Community (EAC). EABC therefore participates in various sectoral meetings, meetings of the Coordination Committee, the EAC Council of Ministers, and the Summit of the EAC Heads of State; with a view to ensure, that the agenda of the Private Sector is well articulated and received by the policy makers.

Vision: Borderless East Africa for business and investment.

Mission: To promote sustainable Private Sector-driven growth.

For more information about EABC, visit www.eabc.info.  

About East African Health Platform

East African Health Platform (EAHP) is an advocacy forum for Private Sector Organizations (PSOs), Civil Society organizations CSOs), Faith Based Organizations FBOs) and other interest groups working on health in East Africa. It was founded in 2012 subsequent to the approval of the dialogue framework between PSOs, CSOs and the East African Community (EAC). Its mandate is to provide the space, be the voice, and representative of PSOs, CSOs, FBOs, and other Interest Groups of East Africa to effectively drive sustainable health, development and growth in the region.

Vision:  A healthy and productive population which enjoys quality and affordable health care within EAC region.

Mission: To coordinate and facilitate CSOs, PSOs, FBOs, and other Interest Groups in improving the regions health through promoting pro-growth policies and appropriate legislation.

For more information, about EAHP, visit www.eahponline.net

Patrick Moshi,
Communication, PR and Advocacy
East African Business Council (EABC)
Cell+255 758 489761; Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

EAC region taking action to prevent future outbreaks of infectious diseases

Posted in Health

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 11 June, 2018: 

The EAC region is taking action to prevent future outbreaks of infectious diseases by strengthening its response capacity, supporting Partner States in their pandemic preparedness measures and preparing to test its readiness in practice. These efforts are in line with a new World Health Organization (WHO) guidance document that lists 5 out of the 6 East African Community (EAC) Partner States as priority countries regarding the risk of a spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In its “Regional Strategic EVD Readiness Preparedness Plan”, WHO ranked Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania as priority 2 and Uganda as priority 3 countries. The ratings are determined based on the countries’ proximity to DRC and the capacity of their health systems to cope with an Ebola outbreak. EAC Partner States share borders with the DRC, maintain direct flights and close trade relations and there is high border traffic. These factors have caused the EAC to be on high alert, and Partner States are implementing extensive readiness measures. To date, no cases of Ebola have been detected in the EAC region.

EAC preventive activities cover key technical areas listed in WHO’s new EVD Readiness Plan, such as multi-sectoral coordination, risk communications, social mobilisation and community engagement. The EAC has a regional contingency plan in place that reflects the multi-disciplinary One Health disease management approach and is currently developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to translate the plan into action. The plan considers important lessons learned from East African experts who fought Ebola in West Africa. One of these lessons is that risk and crisis communication together with community engagement was a “game changer” in the response. Consequently, the EAC Secretariat together with the Partner States is currently developing a regional risk and crisis communication strategy and related SOPs.

Standard operating procedures will also be developed as a first step towards establishing a regional pool of rapidly deployable experts that build on the experience gathered in West Africa. The pool is expected to complement national rapid response teams during future outbreaks. A core team of multi-disciplinary experts will receive training in risk and crisis communication, and another core team will be trained as regional trainers in rapid risk assessment.

To test the successful implementation of the mentioned strategies, the functionality of the SOPs and the region’s improved capacities, the EAC together with the Partner States is preparing to conduct cross-border simulation exercises. They will also offer a unique opportunity to reveal the gaps that still need to be closed in joint efforts.

On behalf of the German Government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the “Support to Pandemic Preparedness in the EAC Region” project amongst other development partners supports the EAC Secretariat in its endeavour to strengthen its advisory and coordinating role for the Partner States in pandemic preparedness.

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org

About the East African Community Secretariat:

The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC Secretariat is ISO 9001:2008 Certified

Othieno Richard Owora

Principle Corporate and Communications Officer

East African Community Secretariat

Tel: +255 27 2162 100

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.