Namibia and Angola to initiate a joint response to transboundary health threats
Namibia and Angola will initiate a joint response to transboundary health threats to institute health partnership and sustainable cross-border disease control mechanisms an official said this week.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services Executive Director, Ben Nangombe highlighted at the opening of a week-long cross-border meeting.
The week-long gathering at Ondangwa aims to strengthen cross-border collaboration and strategies on how to control severe malnutrition and infectious diseases, with a focus on TB, Hepatitis E, HIV, malaria, and other topical diseases.
“Cross-border collaboration is a vital component in our collective efforts and interventions to prepare for and respond to current and future health emergencies, Namibia and Angola must comply with the International Health Regulations (IHR) by ensuring that appropriate capacities are in place to prevent, detect, and adequately respond to any emergencies of public health concern. In this regard, our two countries are urged to continue implementing IHR monitoring tools such as the joint external evaluation simulation exercises and the compilation and submission of state party annual reports,” he said.
According to Nangombe, cross-border collaboration is important to harmonize resources, increase coordination, and improve information sharing to quickly contain outbreaks and stop diseases from crossing borders.
“One of the key mechanisms to strengthen our surveillance capacities is through dialogue, by sharing best practices, identifying gaps, and collectively devising strategies to address them. Strong and resilient health systems form the backbone of sustained health development in any country. Over the years, we have responded to several outbreaks such as cholera, anthrax, Crimean congo hemorrhagic fever, malaria, hepatitis E, Measles, rift valley fever, and the current COVID-19 pandemic, which at its peak, produced high morbidity, mortality, and devastating socio-economic impacts,” he said.
