COVID-19 highlighted need to strengthen response capabilities

MBABANE – The World Health Organisation (WHO) is of the view that the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to strengthen their response capabilities.

This was an observation by WHO’s representative Doctor Susan Tembo, when addressing Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula and other invited guests during the presentation of certificates for participants of the African Health Volunteers Corps (AVoHC) programme.

This three-week workshop saw 26 health officers trained to be able to respond to epidemics and health emergencies, not just in Eswatini but in Africa as a whole.

Tembo pointed out that public health emergencies have devastating consequences, as they overwhelm fragile health systems, disrupt essential health services, and exacerbate socio-economic disruptions.

She noted that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a litmus test for emergency preparedness and response systems in the African region, amplifying the damage caused by other major public health events. Tembe said this global crisis exposed significant challenges afflicting health emergency preparedness and response systems.

“In recent times, Eswatini has been in a constant state of emergency response, due to the impact of COVID-19, cholera outbreaks, rotavirus incidents, and other emergencies,” she said.

Adding, Tembo said these events further compound the existing burden of endemic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and the rapid increase in non-communicable diseases. She said together, these place immense strain on an already fragile health system. To tackle these challenges and enhance health security in the African region, Tembo said the WHO Africa Regional office launched three flagship initiatives in 2022.

She said these were aimed at assisting member States in preparing for, promptly detecting, responding to, and recovering from the adverse effects of outbreaks and other emergencies. “This is coupled with the International Health Regulations (IHR-2005) mandate that state parties develop, strengthen, and maintain their capacity to respond promptly and effectively to public health risks ad emergencies.”

She said this flagship initiative, led by government in collaboration with WHO and Africa-CDC, strives to ensure adequate preparedness for emergencies. Tembo stated that the Strengthening and Utilising Response Groups for Emergencies (SURGE) pillar’s objective was to establish dedicated, well-trained and ready for deployment multidisciplinary health emergency expert teams at national and sub-national levels. “These teams will facilitate the rapid mobilisation of responders (within 24 hours) and reduce response time during emergencies,” she said.

Tembo also expressed her sincere gratitude to government for organising this training, recalling that in 2023, the Health Ministry in collaboration with WHO and the World Bank, provided technical and financial support for the training.

Course

The AVoHC SURGE onboarding course undertaken by the 26 participants, encompasses four modules, which include Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), Humanitarian Over view and Health Cluster, Rapid Response teams, including Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Laboratory, and External Communication. The other module is on gender-based violence (GBV) and PRSEAH, which will be conducted next week.

Tembo then announced that the first group of AVOHC SURGE members would be completing all four onboarding modules next week, which she said, was Eswatini’s contribution to the expanding AVoHC-SURGE workforce, which now totals 1 373 trained professionals in the Africa region.

She expressed WHO’s gratitude to the facilitators from various Ministry of Health and WHO AFRO for their invaluable knowledge-sharing, which has contributed to the development of capabilities for public health emergency preparedness and response. “Once training is completed, the trained AVOHC SURGE experts will be documented in the AFRO AVOHC SURGE database, ready to be deployed at national and international levels.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen our response capabilities. Training local experts is very important given the challenges in bringing in external experts during lockdowns. This is especially critical in the African region, where more than a hundred emergencies occur each year, in addition to the strain imposed by three years of COVID-19 on public health systems and society.”

Tembo also praised all the participants who attended the training, congratulating them for their dedication and active engagement in the learning experience. She then urged the country to carry out the flagship scoping mission for Emergency Preparedness and Response (ERP), as outlined in the WHO Regional Strategy for Health Security and Emergencies for 2022-2030.

“This mission aims to strengthen the capacities of member states to prepare for, detect, and response to public health emergencies through three flagships programs,” she said. Tembo noted that the outcome of the scoping mission will enhance capacity and ensure the health and well-being of emaSwati.