In the wake of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO and the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Angola invited 42 representatives of the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Defence, Communication, the National Commission for civil protection, as well as partners including MSF, UNICEF and US CDC to attend a training of the Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) in Luanda, Angola, from 13 to 17 August.

Training the national and subnational Rapid Response Teams is one of the strategic priorities of the government of Angola to enhance the country’s capacity to respond to a potential importation of EVD cases in Angola. This was stated by Dra Silvia Paula V. Lutucuta, Minister of Health in Angola, in her opening speech: “This training is of high priority. This is why I encourage all participants to make the most out of it. It will enable us to strengthen our response capacities against this terrible Ebola Virus Disease as well as to respond better to any other outbreaks […].”

The training was organized with the support of WHO and experts from US CDC, Brazil and Portugal who worked hand in hand with senior staff from the Angolan MoH. The Brazilian Field Epidemiology Professionals Association acknowledged that this training “is one of the great strategies of WHO for public health improvement in countries, so that countries are able to respond to public health emergencies and lead the process […].”

The objective of the training was not only to provide participants with the state of the arts and most updated guidance for detection, confirmation and response to cases of EVD but also to teach the training methodology to enable the participants and national facilitators to conduct this training in other high risk provinces. 

Since the EVD outbreak in DRC Equateur Province was declared in May 2018, 7 out of the 9 countries identified as being at high risks of EVD cases importation have benefited from this training.

This RRT training, which in the current context focuses on Ebola, can also be used to enhance readiness for the response to other hazards threatening the health of people in countries. This year, similar trainings will be conducted in countries currently working on strengthening their public health preparedness such as Benin, Nigeria or Mozambique, with the support of WHO.

WHO head of country office opening speech following the Interventions of her excellency Dra Silvia Paula V. Lutucuta, Minsiter of Health in Angola, Secretary of State for Public Health Dr Jose Vieira Dias da Cunha  and Representative from the National Commission of Civil Protection and UNICEF.

Learning the safe collection and packaging of blood sample for the confirmation of suspected cases of EVD.

Training on the safe transport of patients at the fire station.