Overall review of details on Rwanda’s Ebola preparedness

Rwanda has been commended for its preparation for Ebola, as it has remained safe from the lethal disease since last year’s neighboring epidemic.

Recently, Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Rwanda for its continuing initiatives to prepare for Ebola and confirmed that no Ebola cases have been reported from the nation to date.

“Rwanda has been proactive and engaged in Ebola preparedness at all levels since the outbreak was declared almost one year ago in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo,” he said.

“We commend the actions taken so far and confirm that there have been no cases of Ebola in Rwanda to date, despite high levels of traffic and movement of people between the two countries.”

Rwanda has a comprehensive National Preparedness Plan in place to train health employees in early detection and response, educate Ebola groups, vaccinate health employees in high-risk regions, equip health services, and conduct simulation exercises to keep a high level of readiness.

Since the start of the epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, screening for Ebola symptoms at entry points has been underway and has been strengthened since a case was confirmed in the Congolese town of Goma. Every day, tens of thousands of individuals cross the Goma frontier to Gisenyi, a Rwandan town. People crossing the boundary are checking their temperatures, washing their hands, and listening to messages of Ebola consciousness.

Rwanda has established an Ebola Treatment Center and 23 isolation units are being prepared in 15 priority districts in clinics. Ebola reaction simulation exercises were performed at Kanombe Military Hospital, Gihundwe District Hospital, Kamembe International Airport, and Rugerero Ebola Treatment Center to evaluate Rwanda’s readiness to respond to a situation involving activation of the Emergency Operations Center, active surveillance, case management, and laboratory testing. Approximately 3,000 health employees were vaccinated as a preventive measure in high-risk fields, including over 1,100 in Gisenyi.

“Rwanda has made a significant investment in Ebola preparedness,” Dr Tedros said.

“But as long as the outbreak continues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there is a very real risk of spread to neighbouring countries. We urge the international community to continue supporting this critical work.”

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