healthmedicinet

We live in a world at constant risk of public health emergencies. In our increasingly interconnected world, public health emergencies can affect anyone, anywhere. The recent outbreaks of Zika, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and Yellow Fever have reminded us that disease threats are not limited to one country, one issue, or one pathogen. We saw the catastrophic impact of Ebola not only on the numbers of lives affected or lost and overwhelmed health systems but also on the economic development reversals of the affected countries. Yet Nigeria and Senegal were able to contain the outbreak rapidly due to better coordination, incident management systems, robust surveillance platforms and community engagement. One key takeaway is to ensure that each country builds the core capacities of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and ensures the safety of the public. Otherwise, the gains we have made over the past several decades can easily be undone. We must make sure that countries are encouraged, not punished, to report outbreaks and have the necessary support.