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UN scales up response to Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone
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The U.N. is promising a surge of additional resources in Sierra Leone to address the ongoing Ebola outbreak there, according to a news release.
“This outbreak is still advancing in many parts of the country,” David Nabarro, CBE, FRCP, the U.N. secretary-general’s coordinator for the Ebola response and member of a delegation sent to assess the outbreak in the West African country, said in the release. “Our partnership with Sierra Leone to end the Ebola outbreak means upgrading all the U.N. is doing to get the scale-up required.”
However, more airlines, fearing spread of the disease, are discontinuing flights into the country, making it difficult for international responders to deliver aid.
“The reduction in airlines flying into Freetown places a huge impact on our ability to bring in staff and supplies for this Ebola response,” said David McLachlan-Karr, U.N. resident coordinator for Sierra Leone. “We can suspend other programs for several months to focus solely on Ebola, but we also need to bring in the surge. This is only possible if the flights return.”
Keiji Fukuda
According to WHO, there have been 904 confirmed cases of infection with Ebola virus in Sierra Leone and 369 deaths. The outbreak has been spreading since March — after it was first reported in rural Guinea — affecting 2,615 people and killing 1,427 (54%). WHO recently declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
“The situation remains challenging here,” Keiji Fukuda, MD, MPH, assistant director-general for global security at WHO and co-leader of the delegation, said in the release. “We will do all we can to get ahead of the outbreak, then we can stop it and help the country get back to normal.”