Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar stressed Egypt’s commitment to working with African Union member states, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to contain the spread of Ebola across the continent and strengthen collective health security.
He made these remarks on Thursday during an extraordinary virtual ministerial meeting on the Ebola outbreak, which he co-chaired as head of the African High-Level Ministerial Committee. The meeting was jointly convened by Africa CDC and WHO, with broad participation from African health ministers and representatives of African Union member states.
Abdel Ghaffar thanked Africa CDC and the WHO for organising the meeting. He praised their teams for supporting national response efforts, improving continental coordination, and strengthening laboratory testing and monitoring capabilities, as well as sharing expertise.
These efforts, he noted, demonstrate the importance of strong and coordinated African institutions.
The minister said the top priority is to contain the outbreak in affected areas while ensuring that all member states are prepared to detect and respond immediately to any cases.
He noted that reported Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya and Nigeria necessitated a faster and more decisive response, alongside stronger national action and coordination across the continent.
He also stressed the need for cross-border co-operation to ensure early notification, co-ordinate responses and exchange epidemiological and laboratory data, enabling health systems to act swiftly.
Abdel Ghaffar said preparedness must begin at the first healthcare facility visited by a patient. Healthcare workers should be equipped with protective gear and practical training, while simulation exercises should be conducted to improve readiness.
He highlighted Egypt’s urgent medical assistance to DRC, Uganda and Africa CDC, including medicines, fluids and medical supplies.
Containing an outbreak in affected communities protects the entire continent, he said, adding that essential services, including maternal and child healthcare, must continue throughout the response.
The minister urged development partners, financial institutions and philanthropic organisations to speed up the disbursement of flexible funding to affected countries and leading response organisations.
He stressed that domestic financing and African collective funding are essential, adding that strengthening Africa CDC’s capacity to co-ordinate regional and continental efforts and provide cross-border assistance is an urgent priority to ensure resources are quickly translated into deployable experts and field supplies.
