WHO urges drastic action on Ebola, calls big meeting
What you need to know:
- Since west Africa’s first-ever epidemic of the deadly haemorrhagic fever emerged in Guinea in January, WHO has sent in more than 150 experts to help tackle the crisis.
GENEVA, Thursday
The World Health Organisation warned Thursday that dramatic steps were needed to fight the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record, calling an 11-nation meeting to address the crisis.
“As the number of deaths and cases of Ebola virus continues to rise in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the World Health Organisation is warning that drastic action is needed,” the UN agency said in a statement.
As of Sunday, 635 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola have been reported, including 399 deaths, making the ongoing outbreak the largest ever “in terms of the number of cases and deaths, as well as geographical spread,” WHO said.
The agency was now “gravely concerned (by) the on-going cross-border transmission into neighbouring countries as well as the potential for further international spread,” said WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo. “This is no longer a country specific outbreak but a sub-regional crisis that requires firm action by governments and partners,” Sambo warned.
Since west Africa’s first-ever epidemic of the deadly haemorrhagic fever emerged in Guinea in January, WHO has sent in more than 150 experts to help tackle the crisis.
But despite the efforts of the WHO and others, there had been a “significant increase” in the number of cases and deaths reported each day for the past three weeks, it said.
To address the growing crisis, the WHO said it would convene a meeting of the health ministers from 11 countries in Accra, Ghana on July 2 and 3 “to discuss the best way of tackling the crisis collectively as well as develop a comprehensive inter country operational response plan.” (AFP)
