ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- African health ministers on Wednesday joined the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for an emergency meeting, calling for enhanced continental preparedness and greater solidarity to contain the expanding multi-country Ebola outbreak.
The virtual meeting on Ebola was held amid the rapid geographical spread of the ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain. The outbreak has surpassed 10,170 confirmed cases with a mounting death toll, with four African countries affected so far, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Addressing the emergency meeting, Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said the Ebola outbreak has, over the past five months, grown from a national crisis into a continental health security test.
Emphasizing that "the main priority today in our continent is to stop Ebola," he stressed insecurity, complex humanitarian situations, a lack of medical countermeasures, and limited funding are compounding the crisis.
Kaseya said that the confirmed cases in the outbreaks have reached 10,172, with more than 4,932 deaths and a case fatality rate of 48.5 percent. Some 2,727 patients have recovered from the disease.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a message delivered on his behalf, stressed that "we are still facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak."
"This outbreak in the DRC is not a single outbreak in a single place. It is many outbreaks across a vast and complex area, requiring a sustained response everywhere at the same time," he said.
He noted that recent measures taken by authorities in Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria demonstrate the continent's capacity to manage outbreaks when detected early and met with rapid responses.
Describing Kenya's response to the outbreak as a "whole-of-government and whole-of-society" approach, Patrick Amoth, director-general for health in Kenya's Ministry of Health, stressed that the country's experience also points to gaps Africa must close.
He highlighted health workforce infections, the cross-border spread of cases bypassing surveillance and contact tracing, and Africa's reliance on uncertain donated medicines amid a lack of licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics as critical gaps.
He stressed that Kenya will keep travel and trade open and will not impose restrictions beyond what international health regulations and evidence require. He further noted that the country will share data, sequences, and lessons openly.
Echoing the sentiment, Ugandan Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi noted that the country's experience shows that transmission can be interrupted when countries act early and decisively.
"Uganda was affected by this outbreak and was able to interrupt transmission within our borders," he said. "Our experience should give us hope, but should also give us a sense of responsibility."
He noted that the outbreak's international dimension requires sustained attention. "The lesson is straightforward: when a public health emergency threatens several countries, our response must also become regional and continental."
Beyond the four affected nations, 10 other countries across Africa have previously been designated as high-risk, namely South Sudan, Rwanda, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Somalia. ■
