Table 3(suite 1).

strengths, challenges, opportunities and threats at PoEs in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region, February - July, 2020

	Strengths	Challenges	Opportunities	Threats
Workforce at PoEs		Shortage of staff to cater for all PoEs. Not all border crossings are currently equipped with port health personnel, thus posing a challenge to the surveillance system. Shortage of financial resources to implement activities at PoEs. Shortage of requisite medical supplies, materials, and equipment, including reagents (with the onset of the pandemic). Delays in mobilizing resources. Non-availability of a control mechanism at the onset of the pandemic. Low motivation among country stakeholders. Inadequate training and assignment of qualified personnel for inspection of conveyances at the official PoE.	Availability of training centers and network of field epidemiologists
Traveller management and transportation		Lack of a carrier tracking system (carrier manifest) in West Africa raising contact tracing issues. Low passenger registration capacity (completion of check-in forms) due to massive population movements before border closures. Difficulty in identifying passengers who change seats while on board, which poses a risk for COVID-19 transmission. Flight manifests are sometimes inaccurate. Lack of cooperation from passengers, thus complicating the screening process and transfer to designated quarantine facilities. Non-compliance with procedures by passengers and drivers. Challenges in implementing social distancing measures
Cross- border Collaboration	Cross-border cooperation mechanism between Mali and its seven neighbouring countries (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, and Libya).	Lack of engagement/buy-in of cross-border communities. Passenger impatience during awareness sessions	Leveraging the regional cross-border poliomyelitis coordination and control mechanism and Lassa fever