In order to coordinate regional response to future public health emergencies, the United States has helped establish Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) in the three Ebola-hit West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The centers will serve as central coordination offices in the respective countries for response to an Ebola emergency or any other public health threat, said officials.

The Sierra Leone EOC, hosted within the Military Headquarters in Freetown, was inaugurated on Wednesday at a special dedication ceremony.

The severity of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea and then spread to the rest of the region, has been blamed on lack of proper communications infrastructure, in addition to the existing deplorable health infrastructure in the region.

In 2014, officials from Sierra Leone and the U.S. CDC identified the need to institute a public health emergency management system and establish a physical emergency operations centre (EOC) to coordinate Ebola response activities and future health emergencies.

The CDC Foundation assembled donors to support a temporary EOC, construct a permanent EOC, and institute an incident management system.
The Paul G. Allen Ebola Program donated $12.9 million for the projects in the three countries.

In Liberia, the US$6M facility was inaugurated on Monday. A similar ceremony was expected in Guinea.

“From the beginning of the outbreak, we have seen how important it is to work together in times of crisis,” said US ambassador to Sierra Leone John Hoover, at the Freetown ceremony.

“We have seen the need to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate to shape a collective response that will save lives and save communities,” he added.

In Sierra Leone, the package comes along with a six-month running cost supported by the (PGAF).

The EOC filled the gap left by the departure of UNMEER, the UN`s Ebola mission, which left the NERC homeless, said Major (rtd) Alfred Pallo Conteh, NERC CEO.

The NERC had already relocated there since June.

In addition to the NERC, the new facility will also host the Office of National Security and the emergency response unit of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, which is set to take over fully the responsibilities of the NERC at the end of the year.

Sierra Leone and Guinea are still contending with the Ebola epidemic, which has claimed over 11, 000 lives, while Liberia has since been declared free it.