Time to dust off Ebola procedures training?

WHO/Tania Seburyamo Primary screening includes temperature measurement and visual observation of travelers to look for signs of illness.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

“It is time for the world to take notice and redouble ourefforts. We need to work together in solidarity with the DRC to end thisoutbreak and build a better health system,” said Dr. Tedros. “Extraordinarywork has been done for almost a year under the most difficult circumstances. Weall owe it to these responders – coming from not just WHO but also government,partners and communities – to shoulder more of the burden.”

The declaration followed a meeting of the InternationalHealth Regulations Emergency Committee for EVD in the DRC. The committee citedrecent developments in the outbreak in making its recommendation, including thefirst confirmed case in Goma, a city of almost two million people on the borderwith Rwanda, and the gateway to the rest of DRC and the world.

This was the fourth meeting of the Emergency Committee sincethe outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018.

The committee expressed disappointment about delays infunding, which have constrained the response. They also reinforced the need toprotect livelihoods of the people most affected by the outbreak by keepingtransport routes and borders open. It is essential to avoid the punitiveeconomic consequences of travel and trade restrictions on affected communities.

“It is important that the world follows theserecommendations. It is also crucial that states do not use the PHEIC as anexcuse to impose trade or travel restrictions, which would have a negativeimpact on the response and on the lives and livelihoods of people in theregion,” said Professor Robert Steffen, chair of the Emergency Committee.

Since it was declared almost a year ago, the outbreak hasbeen classified as a level 3 emergency – the most serious – by WHO, triggeringthe highest level of mobilization from WHO. The UN has also recognized theseriousness of the emergency by activating the Humanitarian System-wideScale-Up to support the Ebola response.

In recommending a PHEIC, the committee made specificrecommendations related to this outbreak.

“This is about mothers, fathers and children – too oftenentire families are stricken. At the heart of this are communities andindividual tragedies,” said Dr. Tedros. “The PHEIC should not be used to stigmatizeor penalize the very people who are most in need of our help.”