Ituri: two health monitoring departments get modern buildings

Aru, May 2^nd, 2025 (CPA) – The National Border Hygiene Programme (PNHF) and the Animal and Fisheries Quarantine Service (SQAH) have been equipped with a modern building in the territory of Aru in Ituri, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the CPA learned on Thursday from an administrative source. ‘The fully-equipped building is designed to facilitate health checks on people and animals crossing the border. The main objective is to effectively prevent the spread of diseases transmissible between animals and humans, such as zoonoses, which represent a real public health challenge in cross-border areas’, said Dr Christophe Kabaseke, coordinator of the PNHF. ‘This control centre will enable faster screening, rigorous monitoring and better coordination between human and animal health services. It is part of a regional drive to build health capacity in the face of epidemic threats’, he added. Dr Christophe Kabaseke said that ‘with this major step forward, the DRC is taking an important step towards more integrated and preventive management of public health at its borders’. The construction of this infrastructure in Offoo Aru, on the DRC-Uganda border, was made possible by funding from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the aim of strengthening the health resilience of border communities while ensuring the safe movement of goods and people. In addition to the construction of this building, a large number of health and non-health workers, as well as community relays (RECOs), have been trained by this organization, not to mention the capacity-building of staff in various targeted border areas.