ARUSHA, Tanzania, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) secretariat said Thursday that it has partnered with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to enhance cross-border health security and responses to disease outbreaks in the region.
The EAC said in a statement that the partnership will play a critical role in addressing the negative impact of health security issues and disease outbreaks in border areas.
The East African region, home to more than 300 million people, has been affected by cross-border health security issues and disease outbreaks such as cholera, ebola, and the COVID-19 pandemic over the last few years, the statement said.
In some countries, these outbreaks have led to the complete breakdown of public health systems, which are completely overwhelmed and unable to cope, among other adverse effects, according to the statement.
"The EAC is committed to having a robust risk communication and community engagement strategy to effectively manage and mitigate risks associated with public health emergencies and other health crises," said Eric Nzeyimana, the EAC principal health officer.
"There are many lessons to be learned from COVID-19 and other recent disease outbreaks in our region, like ebola and Marburg, and these will inform the development of our strategy, which will ultimately facilitate informed decision-making to mitigate the effects of health threats," he added.
The EAC is an intergovernmental organization composed of eight member states, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.
