Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Ministers of Health met to discuss a way forward regarding the growing number of Ebola cases in eastern DRC.
On Tuesday, 6 August 2019, the Minister of Health of Rwanda, Diane Gashumba, and her counterpart of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Pierre Kangudia held a meeting at La Corniche border post between the city of Goma and Gisenyi on the Rwandan side to discuss collective response to the growing numbers of Ebola cases in Eastern DR Congo.
The meeting comes after Rwanda has put in place a detailed National Preparedness Plan for
Ebola and has trained health workers in early detection and response, educated communities
about Ebola, vaccinated health workers in high-risk areas, put up health facilities, and continues
to conduct simulation exercises to maintain a high level of readiness.
Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church in Western Rwanda advised the members
to stop shaking hands as the sign of peace during liturgical rites due to the threat of the Ebola
outbreak in neighbouring Eastern DR Congo.
The Catholic church followers commonly greet each other with cries of “Christ is risen!” and
respond “Indeed He is risen!” and they sing a hymn of celebration with a hug.
It said that the Catholic Church leaders in Western Rwanda insisted they had not placed a ban
on handshakes, but was simply urging a common-sense approach to respond against the Ebola
disease from neighbouring Eastern DR Congo.
The move comes after Rwandan Minister of Health Diane Gashumba, warned religious leaders
from all evangelical churches in the country against inviting people from the Ebola-hit areas in
Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while stressing that unessential cross-border
trade should be avoided.
Earlier last week, Rwanda Health officials confirmed the detection of a fourth Ebola case in Goma,
a city near Gisenyi on the Rwandan side, involving a pastor man, who had travelled from a
community near Bunia in Ituri province.
The city of Goma reported its first case in the middle of July, from another pastor, who travelled
to the city after his symptoms began to manifest in Butembo, and the outbreak response teams
have been following the man’s contacts during the 21-day monitoring period.
The city of Goma shares the border with western Rwanda’s Rubavu district with daily border
crossings between the two countries, estimated at about 100 000 people, according to the
Rwanda Directorate General of immigration and Emigration.
– APA
