On Monday 29th July, 2019, the Ministry of Health hosted a multi-stakeholder meeting to review existing plans for the national response to highly contagious diseases, including Ebola. This was done in light of the announcement, on 17th July 2019, by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, categorising the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Although the risk to the Caribbean is low, the Ministry of Health is ensuring that the existing plans and response mechanisms are robust and can be easily and quickly activated in the unlikely event that a suspected case of Ebola presents in Trinidad and Tobago.
The following entities were represented in this meeting:
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of Communications
- Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
- Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM)
- Regional Health Authorities
This proactive measure was taken as part of the Ministry of Health’s efforts to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to safeguard the health of the Trinidad and Tobago population.