NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Dr Rebecca Moeti was last week in Geneva appointed the new WHO boss for Africa. She spoke exclusively to Star’s John Muchangi on her immediate plan.

What is your immediate task as you step in as the World Health Organisation regional director for Africa?

My first priority will be to work on supporting the three Ebola affected countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. We have some tentative evidence that the epidemic might be turning the corner, but we have to confirm that is actually the case. We really need to improve our vigilance in terms of surveillance and make sure that we have on the ground experts in epidemiology, data management ready to follow up on every possible case and trace the contacts and ensure they are tested and screened to confirm that the epidemic is actually going down. And then, of course, there is helping the country to recover in terms of their health services as they were so overwhelmed by this Ebola epidemic. So that is my number one priority.