WHO Director- General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today praised Rwanda on its continuing attempts to prepare for Ebola and confirmed that no instances of Ebola have been recorded 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. 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,” said Dr. Tedros.
Rwanda has a comprehensive National Preparedness Plan in place, training health employees in early detection and reaction, educating communities about Ebola, vaccinating health employees in high- risk regions, equipping health equipment, and conducting simulation exercises to preserve 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 continuous and has been strengthened since the confirmation of a case in the Congolese town of Goma. Every day, tens of thousands of individuals cross the frontier from Goma to Gisenyi, Rwanda.
An Ebola Treatment Center has been established in Rwanda and 23 isolation units are being prepared in 15 priority districts in hospitals. Ebola reaction simulation exercises were performed in Kanombe Military Hospital, Gihundwe District Hospital, Kamembe International Airport and Rugerero Ebola Treatment Center to evaluate Rwanda’s readiness for an emergency operation.
This will include activation of the Emergency Operations Centre, active monitoring, case management and laboratory testing. Approximately 3,000 health employees in high-risk regions were vaccinated as a preventive measure, including more than 1,100 in Gisenyi.
“Rwanda has made a significant investment in Ebola preparedness,” said Dr. Tedros. “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.”
