By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
has convened a high-level meeting in Kinshasa to strengthen political
coordination and mobilize regional support for the Democratic Republic of the
Congo's response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The engagement brought together President Félix Tshisekedi, President Cyril Ramaphosa, senior public health officials,
development partners and other stakeholders at the National Institute for Biomedical Research.
According to Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya, the meeting was convened to align
political leadership, technical partners and resources behind a common
objective of accelerating support for the DRC while strengthening regional
preparedness against the spread of Ebola.
Kaseya described President
Ramaphosa’s visit as a demonstration of African solidarity and confidence in
the DRC’s capacity to lead the response, emphasizing that disease outbreaks
require coordinated regional action rather than isolation.
He noted that the DRC remains at the
forefront of managing the outbreak, while Africa CDC continues to move
technical expertise, operational support and resources closer to frontline
response teams to reinforce surveillance, case management and public health
interventions.
The organization reiterated that
rapid coordination among governments, regional institutions and international
partners is essential to containing Ebola and preventing cross-border
transmission, particularly in a region where population movement can increase
the risk of wider spread.
Africa CDC
said the engagement reflects the continent's commitment to collective health
security, underscoring the principle of African-led solutions to public health
emergencies through coordinated leadership, solidarity and timely intervention.
