Zambia has launched an Ebola preparedness and response plan aimed at ensuring the country was well prepared in case of an outbreak of the deadly disease, the Times of Zambia reported on Friday.
The Zambia Ebola Preparedness and Response plan’s main objective was to enhance a timely, consistent and coordinated response and coordinated response in case of any Ebola outbreak in the southern African nation.
Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina, who launched the plan, said although the country has never experienced any case of Ebola, the country was part of the global world and the case of travel between countries implies that Zambia remains susceptible to Ebola and many other infectious diseases.
“Although Zambia does not have direct flights to West Africa, the four international airports in Lusaka, Ndola, Nfuwe and Livingstone open up Zambia to travelers from across the globe, hence the need for us to be fully prepared,” she was quoted as saying by the paper.
The government, she said, initiated programs to enable the country promptly handled any outbreak of Ebola immediately the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola as a public health emergency following its outbreak in West Africa last year.
The Zambian vice-president said one of the big lessons from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa was to have a well-functioning health system before a health crisis strikes.
The preparedness and response plan focuses on coordination and resource mobilization, epidemiology, surveillance and laboratory, she added.
It also focuses on case management and infection prevention, social mobilization and media communication and logistics.
“The Ebola outbreak teaches us more about the world’s vulnerability to emerging and re-emerging diseases when we look at how the outbreak started and spread,” she added.
Ebola broke out in West Africa last year, the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976.
The first case was confirmed on March 23, 2014 and at least 11,284 people are reported to have died from the disease in West Africa. The total number of reported cases was estimated to have been more than 27,741. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
