Kenya, Uganda join forces with ECSA-HC to bolster Ebola preparedness at Busia border

By Joseph Checky Abuje

Kenya and Uganda have launched a joint assessment mission at the Busia One Stop Border Post, partnering with the East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) to evaluate gaps in Ebola preparedness, screening systems, and Standard Operating Procedures compliance.

The team-up comes as Busia remains one of East Africa’s busiest trade corridors, where any disruption carries serious weight for regional cross-border operations.

The assessment was led by Senior Medical Epidemiologists from ECSA-HC Dr Mohamed Ali Mohamed, alongside regional emergency preparedness specialists, country health teams, immigration officers, and frontline port health authorities from both nations( Uganda and Kenya) were ascertaining deployment of specialized screening assessment tools originally developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which enabled the joint team to analyze operational gaps, standardize screening protocols, and roll out immediate corrective measures to prevent any viral threat from crossing undetected.

The collaboration underscores a defining principle in global health security indicating that infectious diseases do not respect geopolitical boundaries.

Through ECSA-HC, member states leverage WHO-designed diagnostic frameworks to audit passenger screening in real time, address vulnerabilities as they emerge, and enforce life-saving health protocols at shared entry points.

Beyond Kenya and Uganda, ECSA-HC’s membership spans ten countries across the region, including Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Lesotho, and Eswatini.