Somalia sets up a six-ministry Ebola committee as the outbreak reaches the region
The cabinet approved preparedness measures days after Kenya confirmed its first death. The government has not said whether any case has been detected in Somalia.
Mogadishu — Somalia's cabinet has approved a set of Ebola preparedness measures and formed a committee of six ministries to coordinate them, Shabelle Media Network reports.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister, Hamza Abdi Barre. The committee will be led by the second deputy prime minister, Jibril Haji Abdi.
Who sits on it
The committee brings together the ministries of health, security, foreign affairs, transport, information and livestock. The Ministry of Health and Social Care briefed ministers on the outbreak and on measures to prevent the virus entering the country.
The government gave no details of what the measures are, and did not say whether any suspected case has been detected in Somalia.
An outbreak moving east
The move comes as the Ebola outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of Congo spreads through the region. Kenya, which shares a long border with Somalia, confirmed its first death from the disease this week and is tracing the person's contacts. Aid agencies have warned that the outbreak in DR Congo's North Kivu province is worsening.
Somalia's health system has been weakened by decades of conflict, and much of the country's health care depends on international organisations.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person. Early isolation of cases and tracing of contacts are the main tools for stopping it.
At the same meeting, ministers reviewed plans for one-person-one-vote elections in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states and heard that Somalia's bid to join the World Trade Organization is close to completion.
This report is based on reporting by Shabelle Media Network, via AllAfrica.
