[ad_1]
ADDIS ABABA – The African Union (AU) will deploy more health experts to deal with the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Ebola virus caused 1,621 deaths in the DRC on July 17 in an epidemic that is the second largest in the history of Ebola since its discovery in 1976.
"The AU will reactivate the African Voluntary Health Corps (AVoHC) and deploy it not only in the DRC but also in other countries in the region," said John Nkengasong, Director of the African Monitoring Center. from the disease of the AU, quoted in a statement. and Prevention (Africa CDC), said Saturday.
According to the 55-member pan-African bloc, the decision to increase the number of volunteers is a response to the World Health Organization's (WHO) statement, calling the epidemic a "death toll." epidemic of "Public Health Emergency of International Concern" (PHEIC).
"This is a statement that is issued when an event is extraordinary, serious, and can potentially overtake the country where it is located and have a regional or international effect from a health point of view." public. This is an important statement as it changes how the African CDC will help the Democratic Republic of Congo respond to this epidemic, "said Nkengasong.
Africa CDC, which has been supporting response efforts in the DRC since August 2018, currently has 41 experts deployed in the field, some of whom would be members of AVOHC.
The AU, which had already deployed the AVoHC in West Africa to deal with the 2014-2015 outbreak, said that the "AVoHC" will also be very useful in the current epidemic ".
The AU, noting that insecurity and attacks on health centers and health care providers posed a major challenge for the response efforts in the affected provinces, also revealed that she "will engage with the United Nations security system to enhance the security of deployed experts and efforts can continue uninterrupted."
"We will work closely with the DRC government to better coordinate our efforts with other partners such as the WHO," said Nkengasong.
Other plans to strengthen the response include the purchase and supply of additional equipment and supplies, the strengthening of cross-border surveillance and laboratory systems, as well as a new approach in risk communication and awareness raising at the community level, it was noted.
African Voluntary Health Corps is a team of 800 epidemiologists, anthropologists, as well as communication specialists, laboratories and logistics, from various African countries, who are waiting for an emergency deployment.
According to the AU, the majority of AVoHC members have been "trained and are ready to be deployed anywhere on the continent".
The CDC for Africa, as part of its response to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, has deployed some 41 field experts to the response and trained more than 800 health workers and volunteers from the community.
CDC-Africa's interventions also include support to the DRC government with 3,000 laboratory cartridges for Ebola virus detection, the creation of six laboratories fully badisted and managed by CDC-Africa staff, the training of some 469 health workers, traditional healers and teachers in Africa. prevention and control of infections, it was noted.
Xinhua
Source link
