“The world is not safe from epidemics“, experts from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) said on Monday, who highlighted how the world’s vulnerability Ebola The outbreak a decade ago and then the “global catastrophe” of COVID-19.
“As infectious disease outbreaks become more Health, economic, political and social impacts are becoming more damaging as the capacity to recover from them increases and decreases“Experts said in a new way report.
ebola update
Ebola disease is a serious, often fatal disease affecting humans and other primates.
As of Saturday 16 May, health officials had reported eight laboratory-confirmed cases, 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths In Ituri province in eastern DRC.
On Sunday, unconfirmed reports indicated that a person had tested positive for Ebola in the rebel-held city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and home to one million people.
The confirmed case is believed to be the wife of a man who died after being infected with Ebola in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. Another person who had traveled from Bunya to Beni in North Kivu also tested positive for Ebola.
Cases have also been confirmed in DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa and across the border in Uganda, where two infected individuals traveled from the DRC and were admitted to intensive care. Uganda’s capital Kampala has also been affected. Who Said.
The agency is supporting the government-led response 42 health professionals and supplies already deployed on the ground.
The agency has warned that the outbreak is likely to be larger than currently known, pointing to clusters of unexplained deaths, high positivity rates among tested samples and limited understanding of transmission patterns. At least four deaths of health workers have raised concerns over infection prevention measures in health facilities.
In a statement, the UN agency said there is no approved therapy or vaccine to treat the Bundibugyo virus that is responsible for the current outbreak.
“Ongoing insecurity, humanitarian crises, high population mobility, the urban or peri-urban nature of current hotspots, and large networks of informal health facilities further increase the risk of spread, as was seen during the large Ebola virus disease epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in 2018-19,” WHO said.
AI boon or failure
Highlighting the potential of AI to improve preparedness and monitor pandemic threats, the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) emphasized that without effective governance and safeguards, technological innovations may indeed fail. reduce health protection And widen the health care access gap Which defined COVID-19.
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) is an independent monitoring and accountability body established in 2018 by WHO and the World Bank – formally a specialized United Nations agency – to strengthen preparedness for global health crises.
The board highlights that national leadership will be tested this year as governments work to finalize the WHO pandemic agreement – and to agree on “a meaningful United Nations political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.”
