DC appeals for more Ebola funds

DC appeals for more Ebola funds

Nchelenge, Sept 15, 2014, ZANIS…Nchelenge District Commissioner Royd Chakaba has appealed to the Ministry of Health to increase funding to the sector in the area to enhance surveillance of Ebola virus activities. 

Mr. Chakaba said Nchelenge district has a long and porous border with the  Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where an outbreak of Ebola has been confirmed resulting into deaths.

He said the government through the ministry of health should support the district financially to marshal sustainable preventive measures and enhance the surveillance and screening of the travelling public.

Mr. Chakaba said this in a statement released to ZANIS in Nchelenge today.

He observed that the Nchelenge District Epidemic Preparedness Committee is doing everything possible in terms of information dissemination through the local radio station, posters and, other Information Education and Communication (IEC) Materials.

However, he said the collaborative surveillance and screening efforts could  only be sustained when there is a robust fund in place to ensure that health officers at the entry points were vigilant.

The DC said surveillance and screening centres needed to be put up at the docking bays at Nchelenge, Kashikishi, Kabuta and Mukwakwa along the shores of Mweru Lake.

Mr. Chakaba also appealed to the ministry of health to supply the area with adequate Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) to arm the health workers for any eventuality. 

He said the health workers are among the most affected personnel because of the contact with the patients and therefore must be given the appropriate safety kit.

The DC observed that though the thermo scanner has no direct effect on the way people travel, Luapula Province has only received one despite its delicate position because of the long porous borders.

Meanwhile Mr. Chakaba has appealed to the traditional leaders in the area to join the Ebola band wagon and sensitize their subjects about the eminent danger of the viral disease.

He said the village headpersons and the chiefs as custodians of the people must sensitize the communities on the dangers of the Ebola disease.

Ebola is a deadly viral disease characterized by massive bleeding and destruction of internal tissues that is highly contagious through contact with infected bodily fluids.

The Ebola hemorrhagic fever belongs to the filovirus family of viruses and spreads from wild animals to humans.