Addis Ababa, June 29: In response to the escalating Ebola outbreak in Africa, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Ugandan government have launched the ‘Joint Continental Incident Management Support Team’ (IMS Team). The initiative aims to strengthen the continent’s capacity to address health emergencies.
In a statement released late Saturday night, Africa CDC noted that the newly launched IMS Team creates a shared operational platform that enhances Africa’s preparedness, coordination, and response capabilities for public health emergencies. It also supports ongoing efforts to combat the Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease.
The IMS Team was launched at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and will provide integrated technical assistance, operational coordination, and collaboration with experts across various fields to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and neighboring at-risk countries.
Africa CDC stated, “This launch is a significant step towards strengthening Africa’s public health emergency framework. It demonstrates the shared commitment of Africa CDC, WHO, and member states of the African Union (AU) to prepare for complex public health threats with speed, improved coordination, and country leadership.”
The AU’s specialized public health agency emphasized that this new platform reinforces regional preparedness and cross-border collaboration as essential pillars of Africa’s health security.
The IMS Team operates on the principles of ‘One Team, One Plan, and One Budget,’ bringing together experts in surveillance, laboratory systems, case management, infection prevention and control, emergency logistics and operations, risk communication, information management, and partner coordination to enhance the region’s capacity to respond to disease outbreaks.
Ebola is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease that affects humans and other primates, such as monkeys and chimpanzees. The virus spreads from wild animals, such as fruit bats, porcupines, and non-human primates, to humans and then through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected individuals, as well as through contaminated surfaces and objects.
The average case fatality rate for Ebola is approximately 50%, with previous outbreaks showing mortality rates ranging from 25% to 90%. The first outbreak of the Ebola disease occurred in remote villages of Central Africa near tropical rainforests. The outbreak that spread in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 was the largest and most complex since the virus was discovered in 1976, resulting in significantly more cases and deaths compared to all previous outbreaks. It began in Guinea and spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia through land borders.
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