Abstract:
There is growing concern in Sub-Saharan Africa about the spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as
Ebola haemorrhagic fever, and the public health burden that it ensues. Since 1976, there have been 885,343 suspected
and laboratory confirmed cases of EVD and the disease has claimed 2,512 cases and 932 fatality in West Africa.
There are certain requirements that must be met when responding to EVD outbreaks and this process could incur
certain challenges. For the purposes of this paper, five have been identified: (i) the deficiency in the development and
implementation of surveillance response systems against Ebola and others infectious disease outbreaks in Africa;
(ii) the lack of education and knowledge resulting in an EVD outbreak triggering panic, anxiety, psychosocial
trauma, isolation and dignity impounding, stigmatisation, community ostracism and resistance to associated
socio-ecological and public health consequences; (iii) limited financial resources, human technical capacity and
weak community and national health system operational plans for prevention and control responses, practices
and management; (iv) inadequate leadership and coordination; and (v) the lack of development of new strategies,
tools and approaches, such as improved diagnostics and novel therapies including vaccines which can assist in
preventing, controlling and containing Ebola outbreaks as well as the spread of the disease. Hence, there is an urgent
need to develop and implement an active early warning alert and surveillance response system for outbreak response
and control of emerging infectious diseases. Understanding the unending risks of transmission dynamics and resurgence
is essential in implementing rapid effective response interventions tailored to specific local settings and contexts.
Therefore, the following actions are recommended: (i) national and regional inter-sectorial and trans-disciplinary
surveillance response systems that include early warnings, as well as critical human resources development, must
be quickly adopted by allied ministries and organisations in African countries in epidemic and pandemic responses;
(ii) harnessing all stakeholders commitment and advocacy in sustained funding, collaboration, communication and
networking including community participation to enhance a coordinated responses, as well as tracking and prompt
case management to combat challenges; (iii) more research and development in new drug discovery and vaccines;
and (iv) understanding the involvement of global health to promote the establishment of public health surveillance
response systems with functions of early warning, as well as monitoring and evaluation in upholding research-action
programmes and innovative interventions.
