Workshop Report: How Can Epidemic Preparedness and Response be Improved in the Central and East African borderlands?

Epidemics have long affected the borderlands in Central and East Africa due to a combination of ecological, social, economic and political conditions. For example, porous borders and cross-border social and economic networks make it easy for people – and pathogens – to move from country to country. While preparedness and response activities to disease epidemics have evolved over time, risks remain, and many lives continue to be lost due to preventable disease outbreaks. Policy and practice can build on what has been learned from past and ongoing outbreaks, and from research on borderland preparedness and response. These changes in policy and practice can improve resilience against infectious disease outbreaks and their multi-dimensional impacts.

This short report offers recommendations and reflects on discussions on epidemic preparedness and response in the Central and East African borderlands from a workshop attended by social scientists, policymakers and humanitarian and public health practitioners from Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. The SSHAP Central and East Africa Hub facilitated and hosted the workshop in August 2023 in Kampala, Uganda.

The report begins with a list of recommendations that emerged from the discussion. This is followed by additional context and reflections on the social, economic and political contexts that shape disease risk and which must be considered to improve the effectiveness of future preparedness and response in the region.