By Catherine Nambi
In a significant step toward enhancing regional health security, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) with funding from the Pandemic Fund has launched a three-year Preparedness for Pandemic Response PREPARE Project, valued at US$31.9 million.
As the region continues to grapple with an increasing frequency of zoonotic diseases among them Ebola, Mpox, and Marburg as well as other public health threats, IGAD secretariat through the PREPARE project aims to create a robust framework for pandemic preparedness tailored to the specific needs and contexts of its Member States, Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan.
Speaking at the launch of the project attended by key government officials, healthcare experts, and representatives from partner organizations in Kampala, IGAD’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, emphasized the project’s role in improving preparedness and building resilience among member states.
Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu emphasized, “COVID-19 taught us that pandemics do not respect borders and that the cost of being unprepared is measured in lives lost, livelihoods destroyed, and economies disrupted. The PREPARE Project builds on those lessons, ensuring that, as a region, we are better equipped to detect threats early, respond collectively, and protect our people from future pandemics.”
According to the director of IGAD health and Social development Amb. Moussa Ali Meigague the PREPARE project will focus on various key areas, including the establishment of rapid response teams, enhancement of disease surveillance systems, and the development of regional training programs for healthcare workers.
“The prepare project will focus on various key areas including establishment of rapid response teams equipping of laboratories and improving the skills of health workers we will focus on working together to make sure that laboratories in and between our member states are functioning together and that no country is left out when it comes to getting critical diagnostic services. PREPARE will put money into training a strong public health workforce this includes epidemiologists, lab experts, doctors, veterinarians, fast response teams and community health workers” noted Amb. Moussa
Fatuma Adan the IGAD head of mission to kenya and PREPARE project Lead noted that the project which comes in response to the lessons learned from recent global health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed significant vulnerabilities within health systems in region seeks to enhance establish effective early warning systems, emergency response protocols to mitigate the impacts of future pandemics across the region.
Fatuma explained, “We through IGAD, IFRC, WHO and our member states institution would want to boost the resilience of our preparedness for future pandemics and that we must work with country systems. We have three objectives one is to strengthen our disease surveillance and early warning systems, we want to strengthen our laboratory network and system and build a robust health workforce in the region and within our countries that ensures that we address pandemic preparedness response within our countries”
World Health Organisation-WHO is the implementing entity of the project
A Representative from the WHO Uganda country office Dr Suraj Man Shrestha affirmed his organization’s continuous support to IGAD’s member states’ collaboration in tackling health crises.
“By fostering collaboration across health agriculture wildlife and environment sectors we can build systems that not only respond to outbreak but also prevent them at their source. The World Health Organization remains committed to supporting Uganda and e-gad member states in investing in resilient health systems, enhancing border collaborations and embracing the one health approach. We are ensuring that countries across IGAD region are better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to future pandemics.”Dr Suraj Man Shrestha said
Uganda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, welcomed the project, underscoring the need to ensuring that IGAD member states are better equipped to handle any public health emergencies that may arise.
Our region is prone to several diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential and this calls for collective and timely effort to prevent spread, detect, respond and ensure global health security. PREPARE Project has come in timely to fill in the existing gaps in information sharing, workforce capacity building, strengthening cross border surveillance, laboratory capacities, research enhancement and multisector collaboration.” Dr Aceng said
The project has already supported Uganda’s recent response to the Mpox outbreak through the provision of essential laboratory supplies, logistics for sample referral, beds and beddings for isolation facilities, and IT equipment to strengthen reporting systems.
The IGAD secretariat has handed over these supplies, valued at approximately USD 700,000, to be used in supporting capacities at the national and subnational levels to contain the outbreak.
The items comprise laboratory equipment and consumables for the diagnosis of Mpox, three vehicles for coordination and sample referral, ten motorcycles for sample referral, outreaches and contact, information and Communication Technology equipment including desktops and laptops for data capture, communication equipment, including phones and internet routers and mobile phones for communication.
