MBABANE – Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi says there is need to strengthen cross-border health surveillance systems to prevent the spread of disease across countries. She was speaking at the official opening of a week-long Point of Entry Capacity Building Sub-Regional Workshop which concluded today.
According a statement from Government’s official media channel, the workshop was attended by Point of Entry personnel and stakeholders from Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and is aimed at strengthening their capacities to prevent and respond to public health events occurring at Points of Entry.
Speaking at the Workshop, Minister Nkosi said “Points of Entry serve as a first line of defence to prevent international spread of diseases. Experience from COVID-19 has reminded us once again that health threats respect no boundaries and that we are living in a globalised world, hence coordination and collaboration within and between countries is key in preventing the spread of diseases across borders.”
Minister Nkosi added that, “Currently, our health security has been challenged due to ongoing public health threats like polio, measles, and monkey pox, to name a few. These diseases have a potential of spreading across borders, thus the need to prioritise activities for cross-border information sharing, surveillance, and coordination.”
“I would also like to put emphasis on the importance of building capacities for surveillance including community-based surveillance systems and also establish communication channels between local, regional, national, and international public health surveillance systems,” concluded Minister Nkosi.
USA Ambassador Jeanne Maloney also spoke during the workshop. She said that, “The United States has been, and will continue to be, committed to collaborating with countries in the SADC region and we are proud to bring attention and support to this critical area of border health.”
