Kenyan health officials help passengers to fill out medical forms before
screening them as they arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in
Nairobi on August 14, 2014. EAC aviation officials say there is need
‘put up joint effort to prevent the possible spread of Ebola in the
region.’ AFP PHOTO | SIMON MAINA
By Sandra Janet Birungi and Emmanuel Ainebyoon
East African countries must establish a joint
health emergency plan to combat the threat of Ebola virus to the region,
aviation officials have said.
Members of the East African Community-Civil
Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (EAC-CASSOA) said there is
a need to institute immediate measures to mitigate and prevent the
spread of the virus and other communicable diseases into the region,
saying Kenya, a member state, has already been classified as a high risk
country.
“We strongly advocate for a regional approach to
establishment of methods and strategies towards combating this scourge
bearing in mind the fact that some operators based or transiting through
the East African Community Partner States operate direct flights into
the affected region,” read a statement after holding the emergency
meeting recently.
EAC-CASSOA Executive Director Barry Kashambo said
there is a need to ‘put up joint effort to prevent the possible spread
of Ebola in the region.’
They want the plan named the National Aviation Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.
The development comes after Ebola was confirmed in
Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, an EAC neighbour. Uganda’s
ministry of Health moved fast and issued a statement, saying six
screening centres will be set up on all border points with the affected
country.
The EAC-CASSOA meeting urged all member states to
conduct screening of all persons at airports, seaports and major land
crossings for suspected cases of the virus. All passengers will also be
required to carry their Public Health Passenger Locator Forms aimed at
tracing any exposed travellers.
The EAC Council of Ministers is expected to
develop a monitoring and evaluation tool to follow-up on the
implementation of the recommendations and make a report on the progress
before November 30.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Health
Services, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, has ordered for a Passenger Tracking
Record for all airlines to enable the Ebola screening centre at Entebbe
airport to identify potential Ebola suspects.
“While filling health forms at the arrival desk,
some passengers tell lies on the places they have been to. This makes it
difficult for screening,” she said during a visit to the screening
centre Tuesday.
Daily Monitor
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