East African Community

PRESS RELEASE

REGIONAL HEALTH EXPERTS CHART RESPONSE TO DEADLY FEVERS

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 12 July 2011: A meeting of EAC experts on Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHFs) opened today in Entebbe, Uganda to devise strategies to counter the various VHFs the region is susceptible to. These fevers, most of which are fatal, include Ebola, rift valley fever, yellow fever and Marburg fever.

The 12-14 July experts’ meeting hosted at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) is part of a process to formulate a regional policy to address the frequent outbreaks of various VHFs in the EAC Partner States and neighboring countries. It will also discuss integrated disease surveillance and response.

Over the last three decades, EAC Partner States have experienced recurrent outbreaks of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers including yellow fever (most recently in Uganda), Marburg fever, Ebola, and rift valley fever (Kenya in 2006/2007 and Tanzania in 2007).

Opening the meeting, EAC Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera noted that although the incidence of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers was not regular compared to infectious or vector borne diseases like tuberculosis or malaria, their impact was enormous, especially due to their high case fatality rates.

In a speech read on his behalf by the EAC Principal Health Officer, Dr. Stanley Sonoiya, the Secretary General observed that outbreaks of VHFs often take long to detect and confirm due to limited financial, technical, infrastructural and human resources as well as organizational and institutional capacity to mount effective and sustained emergency preparedness and response at national and regional levels.

He thus urged Partner States to utilize funding secured from the World Bank to initiate sustainable long-term measures to address the frequent outbreaks of these deadly fevers and rallied EAC to join hands with specialized technical agencies to develop and implement a “robust” EAC Regional Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Strategic Emergency Preparedness and Contingency Plan: 2012-2016.

The proposed Contingency Plan seeks to, among others, raise the regional capacity to respond to the VHFs and other emerging and re-emerging diseases of epidemic and pandemic potential in East Africa.

Amb. Dr. Sezibera applauded the Government of Uganda for simultaneously hosting the 11-14 July East African Diabetes Summit and the EAC Regional Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers Experts’ Meeting, saying it was a demonstration of the country’s commitment and leadership in the health sector in the context of regional integration.

Among those attending the experts’ meeting include; representatives from Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI); Uganda National Health Research Organization (UNHRO); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN-FAO) – Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) Eastern Africa Region; the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) - Eastern Africa Region; the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community Secretariat (ECSA-HCS); the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC); the World Health Organization (WHO); and EAC Partner States’ Health and Disease Control Experts and Researchers.

Notes to Editors

·         Over the last five decades, Africa has suffered frequent outbreaks of Ebola, rift valley fever, yellow fever and Marburg hemorrhagic fever, among other special pathogens while EAC Partner States have also experienced recurrent outbreaks of these VHFs over the last three decades.

·         Examples include the occurrence of yellow fever in Kenya (1993) and in Uganda (2010/2011), Marburg fever in Uganda (2007/2008), rift valley fever (Kenya in 2006/2007 and Tanzania in 2007) as well as ebola fever which has now occurred three times in Uganda in 2000/2001 (northern Uganda), in 2007 (Bundibugyo District in western Uganda) and this year in Luwero District.

·         It is, however, possible that many more outbreaks could be occurring but are not reported due to the current limited capacity for early detection, reporting, investigation and response at regional, national and sub-national levels.

·         In accordance with Article 118 (a) of the EAC Treaty, the Partner States undertook to co-operate and take joint action towards the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to control pandemics and epidemics of communicable and vector-borne diseases that might endanger the health and welfare of the residents of the Partner States, among others.

·         In this context, the EAC is collaborating with the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community Secretariat (ECSA-HCS), the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) and the Microsoft Corporation (USA) in the implementation of the World Bank-supported East Africa Public Health Laboratory Network Project (EAPHLNP) which will also contribute to the strengthening of the East African Integrated Disease Surveillance Network (EAIDSNet).

·         EAIDSNet is a regional collaborative initiative of EAC Partner States’ national ministries responsible for human and animal health, including wildlife as well as the national health research and academic institutions in both public and private sectors.

·         The main objective of the East Africa Public Health Laboratory Network Project is to establish a network of efficient, high quality, accessible public health laboratories for the diagnosis and surveillance of Tuberculosis (TB) and other communicable diseases.

·         The project will complement ongoing regional and global initiatives to improve Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) country systems which will enhance the availability of quality information by, among others; strengthening competence of laboratory and facility personnel to collect, analyze, and use surveillance data; reinforcing laboratory networking and district capacity (particularly those in border areas) to report, investigate, and adequately respond to disease outbreaks; and lastly strengthening communications and data sharing to respond rapidly to outbreaks, including those which are: outbreak prone (cholera, meningitis, viral hemorrhagic fevers), endemic (multi-drug resistant TB), or have pandemic potential (influenza).

For more information please contact: Owora Richard Othieno, Head of Department; Corporate Communications and Public Affairs; Tel: 255-784-835021; Email: othieno@eachq.org

Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department

EAC Secretariat

Arusha, Tanzania

http://www.eac.int