Guinea – French support for the fight against the resurgence of the Ebola virus (19 February 2021)

In accordance with President Macron’s commitment and in agreement with the president of Guinea, France is mobilizing its efforts to help the Guinean people in their fight against the resurgence of the Ebola virus.

As soon as the Guinean health authorities announced a new epidemic, Guinea and France, with the support of the WHO and the local team providing French technical expertise made available to the National Agency for Health Security (ANSS), were able to identify immediate needs. The aid provided by France, coordinated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is being deployed in accordance with the three priorities identified in close collaboration with the Guinean authorities:

• To help protect the health workers caring for patients and to establish a ring vaccination strategy, by facilitating the vaccination of target populations.
  The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is sending more than 500 Ebola virus personal protection kits in order to respond to the immediate needs that have been expressed. The shipment of this equipment aimed at showing solidarity with Guinea is being coordinated with the support of the European Union and in close collaboration with the Embassy of France in Conakry; it will shortly be supplemented by additional contributions from the Ministry for Solidarity and Health.
• To strengthen the medical capabilities of Guinean personnel who will be responsible for deploying in Guinea’s Forest Region the six advanced medical stations provided to Guinea by France.
  Training provided by a civil protection expert from the Ministry of the Interior will complement the work of French NGOs operating in Guinea, including the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, which took part in the response to the Ebola epidemic from 2013 to 2016 in the country.
• To support the research/ testing/ vaccination component, which is critical with respect to identifying cases and establishing a ring vaccination program.
  The Institut Pasteur in Guinea is providing the local health authorities, within the framework of the Pasteur network, with testing, analysis and sequencing capabilities. It will also provide, like the NGO Alima, the means to ensure the refrigerated storage of doses that will be delivered by the WHO in the very near future in order to urgently vaccinate contact cases. The Research and Development Institute is also mobilizing researchers in Guinea’s Forest Region as part of the ongoing investigations into the initial causes of the resurgence.

France is also fully mobilized through its various stakeholders, experts and operators to develop, together with the Guinean authorities, a joint response to this new health crisis, building on the expertise acquired between 2013 and 2016.