By Thandiwe Matsenjwa
MBABANE – The Kingdom of Eswatini is taking cautious measures to strengthen its readiness for national emergencies.
This initiative, established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), aims to support countries effectively detect and respond to public health threats and emergencies, ultimately safeguarding the health of the population.
According to information sourced from the Ministry of Health Eswatini Facebook page, the initiative was launched in 2022, signalling a strategic step towards improving health security in Eswatini and the African Region. The EPR Flagship is being implemented in Eswatini, aligning with efforts in 23 other countries that have already benefited from this collaborative initiative.
Eswatini, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Africa and Africa CDC, is focusing on enhancing preparedness for national emergencies to ensure a powerful response to public health threats. The EPR Flagship Initiative addresses the challenges faced in the African Region, including emerging and re-emerging diseases, as well as natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and storms. By strengthening key pillars of the health system, Eswatini aims to enhance its readiness for health emergencies and epidemics.
Minister of Health, Mduduzi Matsebula, highlighted the consequences of previous incidents when there were emerging diseases and disasters.
“The public health emergency challenge in the African Region has been enormous and of divergent nature, with consequences associated with multiple episodes of emerging and re-emerging diseases, and disasters such as droughts, floods, and storms. I am sure the COVID-19 pandemic is still fresh in our memory, with its devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and economies. The weaknesses of African health systems pillars such as governance, human resources for health (HRH), health information management, service delivery, medicines, related health product supply, and health financing are of great concern in Africa’s preparedness for health emergencies and epidemics,” he said.
Dr Susan Tembo, the WHO Representative, highlighted that the initiative will help African countries prepare for emergencies and that health emergencies should be global with no limitations. “This holistic approach ensures the coordinated and comprehensive response to emergencies, leveraging the strengths and resources of each sector. The role of the international cooperation and partnership cannot be overlooked. Health emergencies do not respect borders and our response should be global,” she said.
