Four Ways the African Development Bank Can Support a More Secure Africa

An eight-month-old boy is examined by a doctor in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS By Ifeanyi NsoforABUJA, Nov 7 2019 (IPS) Free movement of people and goods across Africa increases the risk of transmission of infectious diseases. The continent must realise that it is no longer a question of if disease outbreaks will occur, but instead, of when, and how fast. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control says that within 36 hours, a disease outbreak can spread from a remote village to major urban cities of the world. According to preventepidemics.org, a website which ranks countries’ levels of epidemic preparedness, no country in Africa is ready for the next epidemic. The African Union must act now to increase the capacity of member countries to detect, respond and manage disease outbreaks. Managing disease outbreaks is not cheap but it is cost-effective. There cannot be global health security if there are still poor underserved communities where people do not have access to healthcare or are unable to pay for the healthcare they need The current Ebola and measles outbreaks in DRC have killed 2185 and more than 3,000 respectively. In Nigeria, recent weekly epidemiological reports by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control show there are suspected cases of Lassa fever, cerebrospinal meningitis and yellow fever. In Zimbabwe, there is fear of another cholera outbreak. The 2018 cholera outbreak killed 26 people. In this context, the recent increment in the...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs Source Type: news