By Owen Mwandumbya, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Tanzania has urged SADC member countries to effectively strategize the bitter war against Ebola pandemic which has so far claimed lives of more than four thousand people in at least five countries in Africa.
The call was made by Hon. Mohamed Habib Mnyaa while moving motion at the 36th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum being held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Hon. Mnyaa said, the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is not only a deadly health challenge but it has immeasurable socio-economic, cultural and political consequences. He added that the challenges of Ebola are evidenced by the fact that according to the calendar of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, the on-going 36th Plenary Assembly Sessions, was supposed to be held in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo but the venue has been changed to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe because of the threat of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease.
Hon. Mnyaa instisted the need for Parliamentarians from SADC countries to ensure that they enact laws that will help prevent any endangering research that might result into an outbreak of diseases like Ebola.
Tanzania's motion as presented by Hon. Mnyaa come at a time when there is a strong belief that the current Ebola Virus Disease sprung from Human experiments the intention of which might not have been necessarily to kill people in such a large numbers.
He firmly cited the revelations, which became public on 4th October 2014 in a televised Press Television Program between Dr. Randy Short and Michael Lane. Dr. Short claimed to have evidence of U$ 140 million, which was paid by the American Government to some of the African governments in exchange of allowing the human experiments of the virus in their countries.
To protect Africa and the SADC region in particular, Hon. Mnyaa appealed to SADC and African governments to investigate the exact origin of the 2014 Ebola viral disease in order to adopt the right strategies in dealing with the continental challenge. He underscored the need for SADC and African governments to independently scrutinize the different vaccinations given to its citizens and stop accepting experimental vaccines in exchange for grants as these puts the lives of citizens at risk.
Moreover, a number of delegates supported the idea of convening inter–Parliamentary consultations to enhance exchange of information on overseeing the executives' response to the situation and agreed that joint Parliamentary collaborative actions will be a key solution.
Seconding the Motion Hon. Tasneem Motara from South Africa encouraged national governments to improve public education and communication in matters related to the Ebola viral disease, and promote community participation in preventive, treatment and care intervention measures that will help Citizen to be aware of the disease.
The motion was adopted almost by the whole Members and urged national government to establish a forum of expert (Doctors) to jointly scrutinize all vaccination being brought into SADC region before their put into application to avoid turning into an experimental ground in an exchange of grants and other assistance at the expense of our poorness in African countries.
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Member of Parliament from Tanzania Hon. Mohamed Mnyaa, Moving his Motion on Ebola Outbreak during the 36th Plenary Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum being held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The Motion was adopted by all Members of the Delegates. Photo by Owen Mwandumbya
