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Dr Parirenyatwa

From Robin Muchetu in Victoria Falls
SADC member states must remain vigilant against Ebola virus as the region is not completely safe from the disease, the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa, said yesterday.

“As Sadc we’re not completely safe from the Ebola virus as it’s still with us, within Africa and we need to continue being vigilant about it as countries to ensure that we are not affected,” said Dr Parirenyatwa at the official opening of the Sadc Ministers of Health Conference on HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria conference in Victoria Falls.

The conference ends tomorrow.

The minister, who is also the chairperson of the Sadc Joint Committee for Ministers of Health and Ministers responsible for HIV and Aids, told delegates that Sadc still remained the epicentre of communicable diseases and the region should not let its guard down when it came to surveillance of the Ebola virus.

“The danger is to say that things in West Africa seem to be getting better we can now relax, please we shouldn’t relax and ministers here present should ensure that we don’t relax,” he said.

Dr Parirenyatwa said deadly viruses were on the increase due to climate change.

He said many countries were experiencing floods and urged health ministers to be wary as that has a direct impact on health system in terms of disease burdens, starvation and malnutrition.

He said in order to have effective disease control, the Sadc region needed to ensure that they had strong primary health care systems.
Dr Parirenyatwa said Sadc states had made great strides in strengthening basic health infrastructure and that needed to continue.
Immunisation campaigns were also said to be very effective in the region.

“We’re revisiting the primary health care systems in the region to see what services we’re offering and also to see the strength of our referral systems and we shouldn’t shy away from that,” he said.

Ministers in attendance are from among others, Zambia, Angola, Seychelles, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa.