ADDIS ABABA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, has called for urgent regional preparedness against the current Ebola outbreak, warning that it poses a growing threat to the wider Horn of Africa region and beyond.

IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu made the call on Friday during an emergency ministerial meeting on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, bringing together health ministers from IGAD member countries to assess the rapidly evolving epidemiological situation.

The virtual gathering highlighted the need for coordinated regional action, strengthened cross-border surveillance and collective preparedness, with participants stressing that porous borders and high population mobility require sustained vigilance, regional solidarity and harmonized response mechanisms to safeguard public health.

"This outbreak serves as yet another reminder that infectious diseases recognize no national borders," Gebeyehu said, noting that trade, migration, refugee movements and pastoral mobility deeply interconnect the region.

In response to the current outbreak, he said IGAD is advancing the reprogramming of resources to support immediate preparedness and response interventions across the region, including the reallocation of seven million U.S. dollars from the Regional Preparedness for Pandemic Response Project to support member states' urgent response measures, such as screening at points of entry, enhanced surveillance, laboratory diagnostics and risk communication.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 11 other countries across the continent are now at high risk of being affected, namely South Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya, Zambia, the Central African Republic, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Somalia. ■