UN says, curbing global Ebola spread ‘world’s top priority’
5 Oct 2014 5:04 AM IST
Anthony Banbury, head of the UN Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), began a tour of the three hardest-hit nations in the Liberian capital Monrovia setting out an ambitious goal to eradicate the deadly virus.
‘The only way we will end this crisis is if we end every single last case of Ebola so there is no more risk of transmission to anyone, and when that’s accomplished, UNMEER will go home,’ he said.
The agency will work on health and education, Mr Banbury said. But it will also make more vehicles available in the response and helping Ebola-free neighbouring countries defend themselves against a possible spread.
‘The sooner UNMEER can end, the better for all of us. It’s my hope that it will be as soon as possible because that means fewer lives will be lost,’ he told reporters.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had told Mr Banbury on his arrival in Liberia, the worst-hit nation with almost two-thirds of the 3,338 deaths in west Africa, that the virus had spread to all 15 of its counties.
The UN envoy said he was intent on contributing to ‘the highest priority for the international community, for the whole world, not just the United Nations’.
‘The only way we will end this crisis is if we end every single last case of Ebola so there is no more risk of transmission to anyone, and when that’s accomplished, UNMEER will go home,’ he said.
The agency will work on health and education, Mr Banbury said. But it will also make more vehicles available in the response and helping Ebola-free neighbouring countries defend themselves against a possible spread.
‘The sooner UNMEER can end, the better for all of us. It’s my hope that it will be as soon as possible because that means fewer lives will be lost,’ he told reporters.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had told Mr Banbury on his arrival in Liberia, the worst-hit nation with almost two-thirds of the 3,338 deaths in west Africa, that the virus had spread to all 15 of its counties.
The UN envoy said he was intent on contributing to ‘the highest priority for the international community, for the whole world, not just the United Nations’.
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