Hon Abdikadir Aden, Chairperson of
the General Purpose Committee reads the report of the Committee before
an attentive House (You will need to find his pic)
Hon Dr Anne Itto makes her submission on the Report of the Oversight activity on the Ebola and Dengue fevers
Hon Paul Musamali gestures as he
contributes to the debate on the floor of the House. EALA adopted the
report of the oversight activity on level of preparedness of Partner
States in management of the epidemics
………………….
East African Legislative Assembly, Arusha,
As the region
puts out all its arsenal and explores modalities of containing the Ebola
and Dengue viruses, the East African Legislative Assembly has stepped
up to adopt the Report of the Committee on General Purpose on the
oversight activity assessing levels of preparedness of
Partner States in
management of the epidemics.
The House in
its debate has reiterated need for the Council of Ministers to develop
an EAC Policy on the management of communicable diseases in the region
and to strengthen collaborative engagement with key stakeholders. In
effect, the Assembly wants further collaboration with stakeholders such
as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the German Technical
Co-operation (GiZ) to enhance oversight in the promotion of the health
sector in the region.
The assessment took place in the Republics of Rwanda and Uganda, between September 12-16th,
2019, while the United Republic of Tanzania, requested for a new date
for the exercise, according to a letter tabled in the House and
confirmed by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and EAC Co-operation,
Hon Dr Damas Ndumbaro. Chair of the Committee on General Purpose
Committee, Hon Abdikadir Aden, presented the report to the House
yesterday, affirming three other Partner States, (Republics of Burundi,
Kenya and South Sudan) are also targeted in the next oversight activity.
The report was tabled on October 3rd, 2019, during the 1st Meeting of the third Session held in Arusha.
The principal
objective of conducting the oversight activity, was to assess the level
of preparedness of the EAC Partner States in managing/containing the
Ebola and Dengue fever epidemics and to explore possible sustainable
interventions to combat these epidemics. The Committee took the
initiative to get briefs on the Ebola and Dengue epidemics/pandemics and
the progress made in controlling/managing the same; assessing
challenges and ascertaining existence of any specific bilateral or
international engagements/interventions to combat the epidemics. The
oversight activity further sought to establish the impact and effects of
the said epidemics on the economies and welfare of the citizens of EAC.
Under Article
117 of the Treaty for the establishment of the East African Community,
Partner States make a commitment to co-operate in, among others, health
activities within the Community. Precisely, under Article 118(a) of the
Treaty, Partner States undertake to 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 and to co-operate in facilitating mass immunization and
other public health Community campaigns.
During
debate, Hon Pamela Maasaay lauded the initiatives of the Partner States,
saying caution had been taken at the district levels by establishing
laboratories including permeating such measures within the Communities
by having surveillance modes in place. “It is important for Communities to embrace strategies that ensure peculiar signals are picked up”,
Hon Maasaay said. Hon Kasamba Mathias lauded the efforts undertaken by
the Republics of Rwanda and Uganda and said continued surveillance in
the control of communicable and non-communicable diseases was vital.
“What we need now is a regional disease surveillance mechanism to enable us to be able to respond as a region”,
he reiterated. Hon Oda Gasinzigwa said the exercise gave Members an
opportunity to build their capacities on Ebola and called for behavior
change on the part of the clinical officers. Hon Dr Anne Itto, supported
the report and called for an urgent oversight activity in Republic of
South Sudan, citing the conflict prone areas and the minimal presence of
authorities in the border points between South Sudan and the Democratic
Republic of Congo had made health infrastructure challenging. Other
Members who contributed to the debate were Hon Dr Pierre Celestin
Rwigema, Hon Dr Woda Jeremiah Odok, Hon Mary Mugyenyi and Hon Francoise
Umuwukiza. Others were Hon Kennedy Mukulia Ayason, Hon Dr Francois
Xavier Kalinda, Hon Jean Marie Muhirwa, Hon Paul Musamali and Hon Eng
Mohammed Mnyaa
The report
further informs of various interventions undertaken by the Republic of
Uganda and the Republic of Rwanda with regards to containing the
disease. The House was informed of interventions made through a
multi-sectoral approach and such include, development of a contingency
plan for Ebola preparedness and response and a National Disaster
Management Committee made up of Ministers in charge of emergency who
advise and co-ordinate relief efforts in Rwanda. In Uganda, the House
heard of enhanced capacity building in surveillance and contact tracing
and the effective use of community-based disease surveillance
approach.
“Over 7 million have been screened at ground points of entry; with the Entebbe Airport recording screening of 225,804”, a section of the report states.
Prior to
undertaking the oversight activity, the Committee according to Hon Aden,
received a brief from the EAC Secretariat’s Health Department
indicating that disease outbreaks were a common occurrence in the region
and posed myriad of challenges.
“Each Partner State has had at least two notable disease outbreaks in every five-year period between 2000 and 2019”, Hon Aden said. Examples of outbreaks include Rift Valley Fever, Ebola, Marburg, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fevers and Yellow Fever”, a section of the report said.
According to
the Chairperson, it took Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of
Tanzania, six months respectively to contain the 2006 Rift Valley Fever
(RVF) outbreaks. The region and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo
have also experienced several outbreaks of the Ebola Virus Disease
(EVD). “In January 2017, a Bird Flu outbreak was reported along the
shores of Lutembe bay (Lake Victoria) in Uganda. In October 2017, a
Marburg Fever outbreak was reported in Eastern Uganda, Kween district,
close to the Kenyan border with one confirmed fatality”, the report added.
In his
response, the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Hon Amb Olivier
Nduhungirehe, assured the House all recommendations made would be
implemented and affirmed that Secretariat was developing a regional
policy on communicable and non-communicable diseases. “The Council
will in due course interest the East African Science and Research
Commission to champion research to enable the Community to fully benefit”, the Minister remarked.
NOTES TO EDITORS
What is Ebola?
The Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD) is a severe and often deadly disease caused by an Ebola
virus. It falls under the category of viral hemorrhagic fevers. A
person can get the disease by direct contact with body fluids of an
infected person.
Signs and Symptoms of Ebola
The following are
the signs and symptoms of Ebola: High fever, severe headache, Fatigue,
Muscle pain, Sore throat, Body weakness, Diarrhea, Vomiting, Stomach
pain and Bleeding from body openings.
Preventive Measures
- Avoid direct contact with body fluids from an infected person;
- Wash hands with soap and water;
- Use protective materials when handling an infected person and contaminated clothes; and
- Allow safe burial of bodies by trained personnel.
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