The President of Economic Community of West African States Commission, Mr. Kadre Quedraogo has described the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic as a regional security issue.
Speaking at the Health Partners Coordinating Committee meeting on Thursday at the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, Mr. Quedraogo said he took the opportunity of the high-level meeting of the coordinating body for bilateral and multilateral partnerships in Nigeria to pay a courtesy visit to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.
“I convey to the government of Nigeria the total solidarity and support of ECOWAS in this very courageous struggle against the Ebola epidemic,” he said
“ECOWAS also has suffered the devastating effect of this epidemic because we lost one of our dedicated staff and we received support and assistance from the minister in handling this very sad case.
“We fully appreciate what the international community, the health authority in Nigeria, the health personnel are doing. I want to pay tribute to the courage of all the people involved in managing this epidemic in Nigeria. We appreciate their actions. This has been considered as a very security issue for ECOWAS,” he added.
ccording to a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Health Minister on Media and Communication, Dan Nwomeh the ECOWAS President said at an extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Health convened by President John Mahama of Ghana in his capacity as the Chairman of ECOWAS which took place in Accra on August 28, saying that the meeting took far reaching measures on the containment of Ebola in the region at the level of the Ministers of Health and also at the level of the Heads of State and Government.
The priority in Accra, he noted, was to assist the affected countries in containing the epidemic.
He said, “We considered the critical issue of free movement of persons and goods in the region. Since the outbreak of the disease, many member states have started closing their borders or restricting movement of persons. We pleaded against stigmatisation and condemnation and urged member states to work together in total solidarity. The spirit of oneness and solidarity is the essence of ECOWAS and we should not lose the very foundation of our community because of this epidemic.”
He cautioned that isolating countries affected by the epidemic would be counter-productive as closing borders will not only undermine the essence of economic union which is the free movement of persons and goods but could also deny them the financial resources to face the epidemic.
He said surveillance measures were recommended for member states to apply which include screening of passengers at exit and entry points to any country. Explaining how this will work, Quedraogo said there was a proposal for each member state to select one land, sea and air entry point to be jointly monitored by member states to reassure any government of adequate measures to screen passengers before they enter any country.
He emphasised that where there was need to close the border, this should be preceded by consultation among countries concerned with the views of World Health Organisation and the West African Health Organisation taken into consideration to make sure that such measures are necessary.
Responding, Chukwu expressed appreciation to ECOWAS for its key role in the containment activities against the EVD in Nigeria.
Likening the containment efforts to waging a war, he stressed the importance of team work towards a common purpose and assured of the readiness of Nigeria to cooperate with ECOWAS in that regard.