(Business in Cameroon) - On Feb 18, 2020, the Sipopo International Conference Centre, Equatorial Guinea, hosted the meeting of national experts from partner countries and institutions to strengthen prevention and preparedness against the Coronavirus epidemic (Covid-19) in CEMAC member countries.

According to the Organisation for Coordination in the Fight Against Endemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC), the community has agreed to identify common emergency priority measures and actions to be implemented. It has also decided to align the common emergency priority measures in a sub-regional roadmap (awaiting adoption).  

“Beyond the public health emergency, Covid-19 threatens the entire world economy, as evidenced by the drastic drop in oil products recorded since the beginning of the crisis. Faced with this scourge, our community could not remain indifferent,” indicates Daniel Ona Ondo, President of the CEMAC Commission.

“I dare not imagine (…) the dramatic human and economic consequences of the spread of the virus in our community which is just recovering from a serious economic crisis. That is why the national initiatives that have been or are being implemented in the subregion are to be commended,” he added to justify the day’s work and appreciate actions carried out by countries.

Dr. Triphonie Nkuruziza, the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), stressed in particular that the WHO declared the new epidemic “a public health emergency of international concern” on 30 January 2020.

Since then, the international organization has been working to prevent the spread of the disease from one country to another by advising countries to prepare for containment measures. She concluded by saying that “Covid-19 is a test of global political solidarity because we must fight a common enemy.”

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, and its spread to parts of the world, the epidemic has claimed nearly 2,000 lives and infected more than 72,438 people.

S.A.