Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan ‘not the solution’ | Global development
Critics have said a U.S. travel ban on people from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could worsen the situation.
The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Kivu provinceAn area under the control of armed rebel groups.
The American travel ban imposed on non-US passport holders who have been in any of the three countries in the last 21 days has disrupted the DRC men’s soccer team’s World Cup preparations. This also caused a flight to Detroit to be blocked. redirected to canada on Wednesday because a passenger from the DRC was on board.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that while it “fully recognizes the sovereign responsibility of every government to protect the health and safety of its people … generalized travel restrictions and border closures are not solutions to epidemics.”
The organization said: “Such measures can create fear, harm economies, hinder transparency, complicate humanitarian and health operations, and divert movement into unofficial and unregulated routes, potentially increasing rather than reducing public health risks.”
There is no vaccine or treatment available to combat the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the outbreak.
The Africa CDC said this “underscores a deeper structural inequity in global health innovation: Bundibugyo Ebola virus was identified nearly two decades ago, but today there are no licensed vaccines or treatments available specific to this strain.”
“The African CDC believes that if this disease had threatened predominantly wealthier parts of the world, medical countermeasures would likely already be available,” the statement said.
Dr Githinji Gitahi, group CEO of Amref Health Africa, supported the Africa CDC’s position. He said: “Travel bans do not stop viruses, they stop solidarity. The fastest way to protect everyone is not to isolate those affected, but to invest in epidemic control at the source. Africa needs partnership, not punishment.”
Uganda’s information minister, Chris Baryomunsi, told Reuters that the United States was “overreacting” by imposing the travel ban. “We have been dealing with cases of Ebola and other outbreaks for several years,” he said. “The country has the capacity to control these outbreaks.”
The World Health Organization said the outbreak was linked to 139 deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo as of Wednesday, as well as two confirmed cases in neighboring Uganda.
Most of the cases were in the DRC’s Ituri and neighboring North Kivu provinces. On Thursday, Alliance Fleuve Congo, which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, said a case had emerged in South Kivu, which they control.
A case of Ebola emerged in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, which is under the control of M23. Urgent call to reopen the airport Facilitate the flow of aid and medical supplies.
Researchers at Imperial College London revised its forecasts According to the latest WHO figures, the size of the epidemic is upward.
