El Fasher, 7 August 2014 – The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is monitoring the Ebola outbreak since its onset in early 2014 and is coordinating its prevention measures with the lead United Nations agency on the matter, the World Health Organization (WHO), and with other international bodies.

WHO so far has not imposed restrictions on travel to and from the countries where cases of Ebola have been recorded, as the disease is not airborne. WHO identified three groups that are at risk of contracting the disease: individuals having had close contact or consumed infected animals or their raw flesh; healthcare workers, such as doctors and nurses; and persons who are in close constant contact with visibly ill patients.

Conscious of the Mission’s responsibility toward its staff and the population it serves in Sudan and the Darfur region, UNAMID Medical Section has put in place a strict set of measures to prevent the risks related to Ebola. As such, in a three-stage verification process, all UNAMID personnel travelling to and from West Africa have to undergo strict medical procedures with UN-certified medical staff, prior to their departure to West Africa, prior to their return to the Mission and upon their return to the Mission. There are no recorded cases of Ebola among UNAMID’s personnel.

UNAMID issues regular guidance to its staff on prevention and precautions to avoid contracting Ebola. Also, the Mission monitors the global situation of the spread of Ebola, follows the guidelines from the WHO and regularly updates the guidance to staff, reviews and amends the measures that are in place in line with international standards of countering the epidemic.