UN Mission to stop Ebola threat to world -- UNMEER official
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E-mail Xinhua, October 1, 2014
UNMEER official
ACCRA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Anthony Banbury, head of the United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), declared here on Tuesday the foremost mission of his team would be to stop the threat of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the countries it had affected and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the world.
The Special Representative of the United Nations (UN)' Secretary General said the team "shall establish a small office in the Ghanaian capital, where the United Nations selected as headquarters for the mission, while it carries out its operational activities in the three affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea".
Banbury said these at a media briefing a day after arriving in the West African country, adding that the Ebola outbreak was more than just a public health crisis.
He pointed out that the situation caused by Ebola was grave, multidimensional and had its social, economic and security implications.
The Special Representative described the rate of spread of the disease, and the death rate over the last six months as unprecedented, saying it was dramatic and exponential.
"The world has now realized that the risk to the three countries would also affect the sub-region, the continent of Africa and the world as a whole, with the potential of affecting international peace and security."
He added that there was the need for concerted effort by the international community to contain and combat the spread of the epidemic.
"No single state can stop Ebola; no single organization can stop it. There is the need for an international coalition working together to stop the disease from spreading," Banbury pointed out.
Since its outbreak, the EVD has claimed over 3,000 lives out of 6,000 recorded infections in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, according to World Health Organization.
As many as 134 countries voted for the passage of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 69/1 to provide a platform for wide-ranging international efforts to put an end to the spread of the disease.
Banbury said UNMEER in its operations would follow the needs identified by the governments of the affected countries, while filling in the gaps with extra needs identified by international bodies working in the three countries.
He lauded the efforts of Ghana's president, John Dramani Mahama, in setting the stage for the world to coalesce in the fight against the dreaded epidemic and his acceptance to let Ghana host the UN mission, describing this as an absolutely critical capability for the UN to launch its mission.
According to him, the mission will establish treatment centers and equip them, provide logistics such as vehicles, and other equipment needed by the medical teams to do their work and achieve results.
Banbury said the mission's presence would not be permanent but would fold up as soon as the job was done, adding that it was a big task for governments, international agencies and all organizations seeking to work together to end the crisis.
Susan Namondo Ngogi, Acting UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana, remarked that Ebola was new and an unpredictable health challenge, as no one could have predicted a year ago what was happening now in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
She pledged that the UN Ghana country team would do its best to offer its support to UNMEER in its activities.
"But the team in Ghana will also leverage on the strength of the mission in order to improve upon its own preparedness," Ngogi said. Endi
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