(Image source from: Ndtv.com)
A significant meeting of the African Union and India that was set to take place in Delhi on May 28 has been delayed because of the changing health situation in some areas of Africa, as stated by the government today. Reports have come in from various regions in Africa about instances of the dangerous Ebola virus, with the most recent cases reported from South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. India and the African Union were getting ready to host the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit when both sides, considering the circumstances in Africa, "reaffirmed the significance of continuing collaboration to enhance public health preparedness and response capabilities throughout the continent, including assistance to Africa CDC and relevant national organizations," according to the statement from India. The new dates for the summit will be determined through mutual discussions and announced later, said the government. The choice to delay the summit was made after discussions between India and the chairperson of the African Union along with the African Union Commission.
"After these discussions, both sides decided it would be better to hold the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit at a later time," it added. India has not seen any Ebola cases reported. The government has also increased monitoring and preparedness efforts across the country after the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled the outbreak in parts of Central Africa a public health emergency of international concern. States and Union Territories have been instructed to ensure readiness at all levels with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for screening before and after arrival, quarantine measures, managing cases, referral systems, and lab testing, sources mentioned. The need for such worldwide caution is amplified by the fact that the Ebola virus, instead of being uniform, appears in different viral strains, each with distinct properties regarding how deadly it is, how quickly it spreads, and how it responds to medical treatments.
This particular health crisis is driven by the Bundibugyo variant, a less frequent version of the virus that historically appears much less often than the highly deadly Zaire strain, which was responsible for the severe West African outbreak from 2014 to 2016.
