US president Barack Obama has warned that the world is doing too little and moving too slowly to address the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Mr Obama cited his announcement last week that the Pentagon would build a field hospital and treatment units in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone - along with the establishment of a UN emergency mission to respond to the Ebola outbreak - as positive steps.
“But I want us to be clear: We are not moving fast enough. We are not doing enough,” he told the UN. “There is still a significant gap between where we are and where we need to be.”
Mr Obama called on countries to supply air transportation and medical evacuation services, as well as doctors and medical equipment. The United States, he said, could build a network of treatment centers but did not have enough doctors by itself to contain the outbreak.
The initial American response to the outbreak also came under criticism for being slow-footed and inadequate. But after visiting the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta last week, where he announced a new military command in Liberia with about 3,000 doctors and other personnel, and plans to build 17 Ebola treatment centers, Mr Obama clearly felt emboldened to prod others to do more.
Joanne Liu, the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, said her organisation's hospital in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, opened for only 30 minutes each morning, rapidly filling the few beds that become free overnight because of the deaths.
“The sick continue to be turned away, only to return home and spread the virus among loved ones and neighbors,” she said. “The isolation centers you have promised must be established now.”
Médecins Sans Frontières is calling for a centralised system that can be used when an aid worker from abroad falls sick, so they can be safely evacuated no matter their nationality.
Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, addressing the UN meeting by videoconference from his country, appealed for the lifting of bans by airlines on commercial flights to and from the region. He also asked for more treatment centres, labs, and equipment, as well as training for the overwhelmed health workers in his country.
Mr Koroma explained how his government had locked down the entire country for three days - forbidding people from leaving their houses - so it could send out thousands of volunteers to assess the spread of the disease. The survey found the situation was worse than expected.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who convened the meeting, said that contributions of member states “are falling significantly short of the twentyfold surge that is required.”
One of the key shortfalls, UN officials and aid workers have said, is the urgent need for countries to agree to transport and treat aid workers who become infected. The UN emergency mission, which is based in Accra, Ghana, and is headed by Anthony Banbury, is preparing to deploy personnel to the region this weekend.
Beyond the immediate challenge, Mr Ban said, the UN should consider creating a corps of health workers, modeled on the UN peacekeeping forces, who could be deployed to countries on short notice to combat such outbreaks. "Just as our troops in blue helmets help keep people safe," he said, "a corps in white coats could help keep people safe."
The World Bank has also announced that it will double its funding for fighting the disease, to $400 million.
New York Times