Health

The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat has called on EAC Partner States to educate their citizens on protecting themselves and preventing the spread of Mpox. This follows reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) that Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are experiencing an outbreak of the viral Mpox disease. Read more

Between March and May 2024, Eastern Africa experienced devastating heavy rains and widespread flooding, driven by El Niño. Known as the Long Rains, this period caused landslides, mudslides, and severe damage across the region. The effects were particularly harsh on women and children, who lost lives, homes, and farmland. Agriculture, an industry where women play a crucial role, was severely impacted.

Women, often the primary caregivers, were especially affected. Their responsibilities for securing water, food, and healthcare for families became more difficult with the destruction of homes and displacement. Many women were forced into temporary shelters, where they faced increased risks of gender-based violence, including harassment and abuse.

The floods also triggered major public health crises, with clean water and sanitation systems compromised. Diseases such as malaria, cholera, and measles surged, posing serious health risks to pregnant women and children. Access to healthcare services became increasingly limited, further worsening maternal health issues.

To address health concerns during floods, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends several protective measures. Communities need to be aware of evacuation routes and warning signals, with women, children, and people with disabilities given priority. Ensuring the availability of clean drinking water is critical, particularly for women responsible for water collection and food preparation. Good hygienic practices and safe food preparation techniques are essential to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks, while avoiding flooded areas and using mosquito repellents help minimize exposure to hazards like drowning or mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria.

Looking ahead, proactive measures are vital to reduce the impact of future disasters, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Monitoring weather forecasts can help communities prepare, particularly women, who often lack access to timely information. Safe shelters and preparedness kits with essential supplies, such as flashlights, cash, and first aid, can empower women to protect their families. Investments in infrastructure, agriculture, clean water, healthcare, and emergency systems are necessary to build resilience. Designing buildings to withstand extreme weather and relocating from flood-prone areas can offer additional protection, especially for women who manage household resources.

By prioritizing gender-sensitive responses and addressing the specific needs of women and vulnerable groups, Eastern Africa can better prepare for future natural disasters, fostering more resilient and inclusive communities. More details on this Link 

South Sudan’s government has ordered all of the nation’s schools to close indefinitely beginning Monday, March 18, because of a heat wave that could see temperatures rise to as high as 45C (113F) sweeping across eastern Africa. The government has also instructed parents not to allow children to play outdoors and asked them to report any signs of heat exhaustion or heatstroke. 

In a joint statement by the Health and Education ministries, the authorities warned that any school found open would have its registration withdrawn. “The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry will continue to monitor the situation and inform the public accordingly,” the statement read. 

According to the Environment ministry, the capital Juba and most parts of South Sudan are experiencing a heat wave with temperatures forecast to rise to as high as 45 degrees Celsius. This week temperatures could rise to 41 degrees Celsius. The extreme hot weather is expected to last at least two weeks. Earlier the Health ministry had issued an advisory stating that “extended periods of high day and night-time temperatures create cumulative physiological stress on the human body”. 

This, the ministry said, exacerbates the top causes of death globally, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and renal disease. “There are already cases of deaths related to excessive heat being reported,” authorities said in a statement on Saturday. The Health ministry advised people to reduce the heat load inside the apartment or house, close windows and shutters especially those facing the sun during the day and turn off artificial lighting and as many electrical devices as possible. 

The residents are also required to hang shades, draperies, awnings or louvers on windows that receive morning or afternoon sun, and hang wet towels to cool down the room air. “Electric fans may provide relief, but when the temperature is above 35 degrees centigrade, may not prevent heat-related illness. It is important to drink fluids,” the advisory says.

 Those living in air-conditioned houses were advised to close the doors and windows and conserve electricity not needed to keep them cool, to ensure that power remains available and reduce the chance of a community-wide outage. For beddings, the ministry urged use of light bed linen and sheets, and no cushions to avoid heat accumulation. People were advised to drink water regularly and avoid alcohol and too much caffeine and sugar, which are dehydrating. They were also urged to eat small but frequent meals and to avoid foods that are high in protein. 

The ministry urged people to be their brothers’ keepers, checking in especially on family, friends, and neighbours who spend much of their time alone. Vulnerable people might need assistance on hot days, it said. “If anyone you know is at risk, help him or her to get advice and support. Elderly or sick people living alone should be visited at least daily. If a person is taking medication, ask the treating doctor how it can influence thermoregulation and the fluid balance,” the Health ministry advised. 

Read more on WHO's How to stay safe during heatwaves on this Link

It is vital that public health professionals engage with issues concerning trade organisations and treaties.
The world is getting smaller. Increased globalisation, resulting from advances in travel and telecommunications, has facilitated an ever greater mixing of people, customs and cultures, and more rapid cross border flows of goods and services, people and capital, and ideas and information. For some this heralds increasing standards of living—including health—for all. For others it brings greater exploitation of poor countries, adverse impacts on health, and the destruction of indigenous cultures. But why should this concern those working in public health? Read more in an article in the Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health on this Link

There is an outbreak of Red Eyes otherwise known scientifically as Viral Conjunctivitis. This has been reported in the country's regions of Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Pwani and the capital city, Dodoma.

Viral Conjunctivitis is an Infection of the eye caused by a virus, which can be caused by a number of different viruses, such as adenoviruses. It is very contagious, and sometimes can result in large outbreaks depending on the virus. 

Tanzania's Ministry of Health made the announcement on the outbreak on 15 January 2023, which is available on this link: https://twitter.com/wizara_afyatz/status/1746905306091708917?s=20

Symptoms of conjunctivitis can include:

• Pink or red colour in the white of the eye(s)
• Swelling of the conjunctiva (the thin layer that lines the white part of the eye and the inside of the eyelid) and/or eyelids
• Increased tear production
• Feeling like a foreign body is in the eye(s) or an urge to rub the eye(s)
• Itching, irritation, and/or burning
• Discharge (pus or mucus)
• Crusting of eyelids or lashes, especially in the morning
• Contact lenses that feel uncomfortable and/or do not stay in place on the eye

Viral Conjunctivitis can occur with symptoms of a cold, flu, or other respiratory infection. It usually begins in one eye and may spread to the other eye within days. Discharge from the eye is usually watery rather than thick.

For more details on causes, symptoms, treatment and transmission, please read here: https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/index.html

The FAO Emergency Prevention System has cautioned about the risk of RVF occurrence in East Africa both in animals and humans, due to favourable environmental conditions and through movement of potentially infected animals, underscoring the urgent need to ensure adequate preparedness for potential outbreak of RVF, through the One Health approach.

During the period of July–October 2023 and over the recent weeks, weter than-normal conditions occurred in the region, and particularly in Sudan, South Sudan and parts of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and United Republic of Tanzania. Flooding conditions persisted in the Sudd wetlands in northern South Sudan. These suitable environmental conditions for potential RVF vector amplification, abundance and distribution are forecasted to persist until January 2024 because of a strong El Niño predicted event that is expected to occur with a 75-85 percent chance. Extensive hotspots for RVF vector amplification are predicted in Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, and Rwanda.

Read more on this link

A study by the Harvard Medical School reveals that deep sea fish tend to contain the highest levels of mercury as a result of consuming small fish. The study warns consumers against eating large fish such as shark, swordfish, tilefish and King Mackerel. According to the Secretary General of International Federation of Fertility Societies Oladapo Ashiru, large fish have been found to contain heavy metals that can lead to infertility.

Read more: https://nation.africa/kenya/health/fertility-experts-warn-against-consumption-of-large-fish-4408700

An increase in cholera infections has been reported in Tanzania since early October. Cholera spreads via contaminated food and water. Symptoms include vomiting and profuse, watery diarrhea which can lead to severe dehydration. 

For more information go to this link: Francais |  Español

Over recent years, member states of the East African Community have strengthened their pandemic preparedness in cooperation with German technical and financial cooperation, provided by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and by KfW Development Bank, both working on behalf of the German government.Is pandemic preparedness work paying off for East African countries? The successful containment of a recent Marburg outbreak in Tanzania suggests the answer is yes.

Read more: https://health.bmz.de/stories/how-its-pandemic-preparedness-helped-tanzania-to-successfully-control-a-marburg-outbreak/

On 8 May, 2018, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) declared an outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Bikoro Health Zone, Equateur Province in the Western part of the country.

By 15 May, 2018 a total of 44 EVD cases (3 confirmed) had been reported with 19 deaths, including three health care workers. As of 16 May, 393 contacts had been identified and are being followed. A new confirmed case in the 1.2 million people town of Mbandaka, some 150 km away from Bikoro, increases the risk of spreading the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organization are on site and supporting the DRC in the fight against the outbreak, the ninth that has occurred in the country.

Ebola is a zoonotic virus disease that is transmitted from animals to humans. Experts believe that bats are the reservoir for the pathogen. While they do not get sick, the Ebola virus causes a severe, often fatal illness in humans. It spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission, via direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people and through contaminated surfaces and materials, such as bedding or clothing. There is no therapy yet for EVD and about 50% of people infected with the virus may die. Health workers have an increased risk due to the nature of their work that exposes them to infected people.

Five out of six EAC Partner States share borders with the DRC, and all of them maintain close trade relations with high border traffic. There are also direct flights between the DRC and individual East African Partner States. These factors have caused the EAC to be on high alert. Partner States have put safety measures in place that range from screening people arriving from DRC at the border posts for signs of the disease to alerting health personnel; enhancing diagnostic capacities at major research centres; and informing citizens of the risk and of preventive measures. To date, no cases of Ebola have been detected in the EAC region.

The EAC region has experienced a number of Ebola outbreaks in the past, and some 500 East African experts assisted in the fight against Ebola in West Africa in 2014-2016, when the disease killed more than 11,000 out of almost 30,000 infected people. These experts represent a unique pool of professionals from different disciplines, all with hands-on experience in responding to EVD outbreaks. They can be mobilised at short notice to join the common effort of preventing the disease to spread into the EAC. 

Still, the EAC Secretariat encourages the public to be vigilant and alert. People should seek medical attention when the following symptoms are observed: a sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is often followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, and a skin rash. It can be accompanied by internal and external bleeding (e.g. oozing from the gums, blood in the stools). The public is also urged to continue cooperating with the health workers of their nearest health facilities by availing themselves of information about EVD. 

The EAC Secretariat commends the Partner States for their vigilance and quick and prudent response across disciplines as reflected in the One Health approach. The Secretariat will continue to monitor the situation together with the EAC Partner States to detect any occurrence of EVD in the region at the earliest possible time.