A First-Hand Account of the Marburg Disease Outbreak in Rwanda
Jean Pierre Sibomana recounts in The New England Journal of Medicine how he identified and managed what appeared to be the first cases of the Marburg Disease (MARD) outbreak in Rwanda in September 2024. Sibomana’s preparedness stemmed from his participation in EFFO training during the Ebola outbreak in 2018/2019.
From 23 to 27 September, Thomas Pärisch (RKI) participated in the response to Mpox mission in the South Kivu province of the DRC. A training session was organised by SEEG of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu.
A milestone in Rwanda's emergency preparedness: Construction works for a high-level isolation began in Kigali. Along with the start of construction, a corresponding training programme for different target groups began in order to enhance clinical management capacities and to improve occupational safety.
Center of Excellence Construction: Kick-off meeting held
A kick-off meeting was held on the ground plot in Masaka / Kigali, where the future Center of Excellence (CoE) is going to be constructed. EFFO-CoE project coordination as well as representatives from the construction company, construction supervision company and Rwanda Housing Authority were on-site (19.12.2023)
EFFO delegation in Rwanda: First planning meetings for the construction of a special isolation unit
From 20.11.2021 - 28.11.2021, EFFO project staff from the Robert Koch-Institute, the Technische Universität Braunschweig and the Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine of the Charite University Hospital Berlin travelled to Rwanda (12.2021).
Visit of the Rwandan Minister of Health Dr Daniel NGAMIJE to the RKI and Charité Universitätsmedizin
Meeting with Health Minister Dr Daniel Ngamije and Head of the Rwanda Biomedical Center Dr Sabin Nsanzimana at the Robert Koch Institute and Charité University Hospital Berlin on 26.08.2021.
A series of four webseminars on clinical management of COVID-19 was developed to support the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC) and Rwanda's Public Health Institute in dealing with the rising COVID-19 incidence rates in June 2021.
Workshop on High-Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) in Berlin (Robert Koch-Institute)
From 14-18 October 2019, the EFFO project organised a workshop on "High-Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID)". The aim was to connect different actors from the project country Burkina Faso (20.10.2019).
To train staff from hospitals and health posts in dealing with suspected Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, two simulation exercises in hospitals (August 2018 and February 2019) and a refresher course for the first trainer cohort (June 2019) were carried out.
In order to mantain and expand the EFFO network a workshop was hold in November 2017 focusing on development and adaptation of training materials for plague. EFFO trainers and potential new trainers from institutions in Burkina Faso attended the workshop (15.12.2017).
EFFO trainers can access to this handbook with diverse training materials and didactically prepared documents for download. The concept for organizing the trainings is available in French, English and German. Have a look here! (01.09.2017)
Practicing and evaluating are crucial steps in the preparation for biological threats in hospitals. EFFO challenges health care workers with simulation exercises (01.09.2017).
EFFO works together with the Operndorf Afrika (Opera Village) in Burkina Faso. The aim is to further integrate theatre pedagogy methods in the training of trainers. The EFFO team and the team of the Operndorf piloted a cooperation during a fact-finding mission in June 2017.
Dealing with uncertainty and with errors is prioritized in the EFFO project and is discussed explicitly during trainings. A first workshop on this topic was conducted together with nurses of STAKOB in Hamburg in March 2017 (in German).
A refresher course for ten trainers of the EFFO project took place at the Robert Koch Institute on November 2016. Main contents focused on practical exercises and personal protective equipment, with special emphasis on respiratory protection (11.2016).
Transparency plays an important role in the EFFO project. We want to share experiences: What do we teach? Which methods are used? What were the difficulties and how can EFFO contribute to the mitigation of an acute outbreak? (2015-2016)