The 9th meeting of the Ebola emergency committee organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director - General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) concerning the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa took place on the 29th of March 2016. It was said at the meeting that the Ebola virus situation in West Africa is no longer a public health emergency of International concern. Hence, the suspension of the temporary recommendations adopted in its response.
The Director - General of the committee alluded to the fact that the meeting advised him that the Ebola situation in West Africa no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International concern. He further reiterated that a cluster of new Ebola cases and deaths have been reported in Guinea and involve a single chain of transmission. In the committee’s view, the affected country(ies) have the required capacity and capability to manage the flare ups.
He further said that experts on Ebola noted during the meeting that the Ebola response capacity in West Africa is strong.
Also in anticipation of further flare ups, the committee has kept hundreds of its experienced staff ready to contribute to the kind of emergency response needed to interrupt the transmission chains.
Indeed this is great news! However, the West African community must maintain the capacity and readiness to prevent, detect and respond to any ongoing transmission or flare up of new cases in the future.
Meanwhile, in Liberia, a flare up of Ebola cases is being attended to by the Liberian health authorities. This latest flare up of Ebola in Liberia has been traced to a woman who arrived in Liberia from Guinea on the 21st of March 2016 after her husband supposedly died from unknown causes in Guinea.
Written By: Jimoh Waliu
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