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Health officials in Africa's Great Lakes region have agreed to set up regional monitoring networks and conduct joint mobilisation campaigns against epidemics in their countries.
At the end of a four-day workshop on Thursday in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, health officials from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania, said they had agreed to strengthen cooperation in epidemic prevention and response on their common borders.
Malaria, cholera, meningitis, dysentery and, lately, avian influenza were some of the epidemics the experts discussed. They cited the need to exchange information on epidemic outbreaks in the region and said each country would set up a committee comprising health specialists for this purpose. The participants also agreed to organise joint vaccination campaigns in cases where an epidemic was reported in more than one country.
Following the recent outbreak of avian influenza in Nigeria, the participants said they would hold joint epidemic investigations and surveillance to prevent the disease from reaching their countries. Moreover, they said they would organise joint case management.
The Great Lakes Region is vulnerable to the bird flu epidemic, as migrating birds come to the region to escape winter in other areas.
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