The Sunday Mail
Wynne Musabayana
The Ebola outbreak was first reported in December 2013 in Guinea, and as the African Union has stressed, this current one is arguably the worst that has ever been experienced since the virus first surfaced back in 1976.
The outbreak has had severe socio-economic consequences, with top being the impact on Mano River countries. At regional level, negative impact on Africa’s growth will be felt. Possibly the outbreak might even reverse developmental gains made in the past years.
The epidemic has also overstretched the capacity of member states to adequately provide health care in an environment where national budgetary allocations to the health sector remain lean.
Through its Peace and Security Council and the Executive Committee and the various mechanisms put in place, the AU is working alongside other major actors to bring an end to the spread of the disease.
The AU response to Ebola started in April 2014 at the first African Ministers of Health Meeting, jointly convened by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Luanda, Angola.
A strong Communiqué and an appeal to member states with experience in handling Ebola disease was issued requesting them to assist. The subsequent response was positive as most countries sent experts to the affected countries.
Approximately US$1, 000 000 was released from the Union’s Special Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa in August 2014, and on the September 5, the staff members of the African Union donated another US$100,000 dollars to the Ebola effort.
The Commission’s Chairperson expressed the Union’s gratitude for this gesture, with the use of these funds determined by the funding agreement with the member states.
The Peace and Security Council of the AU met at its 450th meeting in Addis Ababa on 19 August 2014 and adopted decisions on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
One of the decisions was the authorisation of the immediate deployment of an AU-led Military and Civilian Humanitarian Mission, comprising medical doctors, nurses and other medical and paramedical personnel, as well as military personnel, as required for the effectiveness and protection of the Mission.
The Commission should take, without further delay, the necessary steps to develop a Concept of Operations for the AU Mission, including its logistical, financial and other relevant aspects.
As a follow up to these decisions, the ASEOWA team was formed, with the Strategic Task Force comprising of representatives from various AU departments, UN agencies and international partners.
The Concept of Operations has been finalized and signed and it now guides the work of ASEOWA.
On September 19, members of the ASEOWA volunteers were recruited, among them epidemiologists, clinicians, and communications personnel.
The team underwent two days of training and information update by specialists from the AU and partners at the AU Headquarters.
It was then deployed to Monrovia on September 17.
Apart from the training received in Addis Ababa before their departure, the ASEOWA personnel received further training in Monrovia under the WHO and the United States Center for Disease Control. The ASEOWA medical team has now been deployed to 8 Ebola Treatment Centres in Liberia. Their main duties include patient management, supervision of patient management activities, supervision of patient triage, supervision of infection prevention and control activities, control the pharmacy (temporarily), assistance of the MOH on overall ETU management and staff coordination, providing basic and vital logistics and supplies to the unit and providing support of the overall coordination towards the fight against the outbreak.
A total of 87 African volunteers have so far been deployed to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The ASEOWA Strategic task force is working to put together more volunteers for future deployments and rotation.
Many more pledges for human resources have come from member states, since a call was made by the AUC Chairperson to governments of member states to provide more resources.
An emergency meeting of the Executive Council was held early September and was called with a view to craft a united, comprehensive and collective response to the Ebola outbreak.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Health and Child Care Dr David Parirenyatwa attended the meeting and among the decisions of the Executive Council were that the AU Commission should call upon member states to urgently lift all travel bans and restrictions to respect the principle of free movement and that any travel related measures be in line with WHO and ICAO recommendations.
Another decision was the need to engage with media and advocacy groups, local communities, civil society organisations, social networks and other relevant actors on the ground to ensure proper communications about EVD to the general population and the international community at large.
There is also need to work closely with Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), international and regional organisations, Africa’s partners, public sector and other relevant actors on the ground, with a view to mobilising adequate resources to respond to the EVD crisis, in the spirit of Africa solidarity and global approach and in a very well-coordinated and transparent manner, including the sharing of information on commitments and contributions of the various partners.
Finally there is need to take all the necessary steps for the rapid establishment of an African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP), pursuant to Assembly Decision AU/Dec 499 (XXII). The functioning of the ACDCP must be ensured, together with the establishment of regional centres by mid-2015, including the enhancement of the early warning systems to address in a timely and effective manner all the health emergencies and the coordination and harmonisation of health domestic regulations and interventions as well as the exchange of information on good experiences and best practices.
In pursuance of the implementation of the decisions of the Executive Council, the Commissioner of Social Affairs visited Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone from September 28 to 14 October with a view to discussing the major decisions of the Executive Council, such as flight cancellations and closure of borders.
It was recently announced that Cote D’Ivoire has lifted restrictions on flights into and out of the affected countries.
From October 23- 25, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma visited the three Ebola affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. She was accompanied by ECA Executive Secretary, Dr Carlos Lopez and African Development Bank President, Dr Donald Kaberuka.
Wayne Musabayana is the Deputy Head of Communication and Information, and Lead Communicator of the African Union’s response to the Ebola crisis
