President Kagame said on Friday that trust, communication and good data were the foundation of public health preparedness and response as he addressed the Health Security Roundtable in Munich, Germany.
The Roundtable was organised by Munich Security Conference Foundation, in cooperation with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“We have to think rigorously about the link between conflict and epidemics, and as has also been stated, how the global effort can come together with national efforts and support each other. I think it has been demonstrated how that would benefit everyone. The Ebola outbreak in, for example, West Africa struck nations at peace. By contrast, the current outbreak in DRC has remained contained, despite insecurity there. One difference is that health workers in DRC have experience with detection and containment, and they seem able to relate effectively to the population. So there is that close link. In West Africa, the disease went unrecognised for months, and there was a trust deficit in public health messages that hindered response. As a result, the ultimate cost ran into the tens of billions, according to some estimates. Trust, communication, and good data are really the foundation of public health preparedness and response” President Kagame said.
The Head of State used Rwanda’s example to demonstrated how it was “within the means of countries at Rwanda’s income level, working with WHO and other partners and institutions, to provide adequate health emergency preparedness”.
“In Rwanda, we have 60,000 community health workers deployed around the country. This allows the Ministry of Health to track 27 priority diseases on a daily basis, using an Electronic Epidemic Surveillance and Response System (eISDR). We have also integrated the core of the WHO International Health Regulations into our strategic planning. In response to the DRC outbreak, Rwanda updated its Ebola preparedness plan. Readiness rose from 55% to 84% from May 2018 to January 2019, as assessed by WHO” President Kagame said.
Munich Security Conference (MSC) assembles more than 450 high-profile and senior decision-makers as well as thought-leaders from around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society, to engage in an intensive debate. (End)