By: Supreetha Gubbala<\/p>\n
{{RUBAVU}}–{A five-day Rwanda government Pandemic Disaster Response Tabletop Exercise is taking place at Lake Serena Hotel in Gisenyi. } <\/p>\n
Officials from the United States African Command (AFRICOM) , Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance in Medicine (CDHAM) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) are gathered in Gisenyi western province to scale up partnership between foreign partners and MIDIMAR to enhance capacity of Rwanda\u2019s disaster response, and test it\u2019s aptitude on how to respond to disaster events.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here because we all realize that the occurrence of devastating pandemic is not science fiction,\u201d Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs Gen. Marcel Gatsinzi said in his opening remarks on behalf of Prime Minister who was unable to attend the event.<\/p>\n
Gen. Gatsinzi refered to the 1918 influenza pandemic that in its three waves of destruction managed to kill 30-50 million people worldwide and continues to remind the world of possible pandemics. <\/p>\n
Africa\u2019s particular demon, along with the global scare of SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009, was the outbreak of cholera throughout the latter have of the 1990s. <\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the potential speed of transmission and the far reaching effects that can be expected, waiting until a pandemic strikes can be disastrous for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Minister brought up difficult and interesting questions for the audience, that were aimed to be addressed at the conference.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we rely on police protection to maintain security normally, at what point do we call on our Militaries to ensure security? Communities, businesses and local authorities also need to be thinking about measures that can be taken in case schools or businesses need to be shut down for sometime,\u201d he questioned.<\/p>\n
The Minister\u2019s remarks were followed by those of Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy Anne Casper and the Senior Leader Representative Brigadier General Stayce Harris. <\/p>\n
Casper emphasized on the role of the U.S. Government in this effort as a partnership, something key to ensuring that Rwanda does not become dependent upon foreign partners.<\/p>\n
\u201c And let me stress the word \u2018partnership\u2019,\u201d she told the audience, \u201c Those of us who have the privilege of living in Rwanda and working side-by-side with our counterparts everyday\u2026are humbled by the gains you have made, the challenges you have overcome and the spirit of perseverance that emanates from the heart of every Rwandan.\u201d<\/p>\n
She concluded in Kinyarwanda stating, \u201cTwese Hamwe, turabishoboye,\u201d which means \u201cTogether, we can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brigadier General Harris reiterated AFRICOM\u2019s mandate in Rwanda as,\u201cThe importance of preparedness for a response, clear command and control in multi-jurisdictional disasters, and regional cooperation during a severe pandemic disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
In interview with the press, AFRICOM advisor Erik Threet emphasized, \u201cIf you can practice it now, you can respond better to these kinds of situations.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, they also clarified they were not particularly emphasizing refugee situations, which also remains a part of MIDIMAR\u2019s mandate. <\/p>\n
About their role in this area, Threet said, \u201c It would provide the military to be more coordinated with UN organizations that are more responsible for refugee camps and if there is a need for the military police to do social dissenting, then they are practicing for it now.\u201d <\/p>\n
Reacting to weakness of Rwanda\u2019s disaster response capacity at the moment, the representative responded, \u201cJust like within any continent, it is the coordination aspect, who do you call, who does what. Moreover, many times, you do not get a chance to practice before disaster hits. I think coordination and communication are key challenges to any response to a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another vital issue for Rwanda in disaster situations and pandemics is a shortage of resources, and medical supplies. <\/p>\n
When questioned as to how AFRICOM would aid with this, Threet told {Igihe.com}, \u201cUSAID, Project Prepare are here helping pursue other donors for the government to plan for resources to be provided in those situations.\u201d
\nWe would work first to see what their capabilities are here. <\/p>\n
Brigadier General Harris, told igihe.com that AFRICOM looks to regional capabilities and collaboration, because when a pandemic hits, it knows no borders. <\/p>\n
She mentioned that this tabletop workshop had already been conducted successfully in Kenya, Tanzania, and Benin.<\/p>\n
The rest of the days events include planning for pandemics via the military expertise of national coordination. <\/p>\n
Workshops will be lead by various regional leaders in the field including the National Disaster Operations Center, Abuja Nigerian Ministry of Defense, Uganda Peoples Defense Forces, UNOCHA African Union Liaison Office, WHO Kigali Office, and the Director of Disaster Management and Program Coordinator at MIDIMAR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Supreetha Gubbala {{RUBAVU}}–{A five-day Rwanda government Pandemic Disaster Response Tabletop Exercise is taking place at Lake Serena Hotel in Gisenyi. } Officials from the United States African Command (AFRICOM) , Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance in Medicine (CDHAM) and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR) are gathered in Gisenyi western […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"byline":[158],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","byline-b_igi_adm1n"],"bylines":[{"id":158,"name":"b_igi_adm1n","slug":"b_igi_adm1n","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":1}],"contributors":[{"id":158,"name":"b_igi_adm1n","slug":"b_igi_adm1n","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":1}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}