Ebola: Tackling an international challenge

Ebola is a major threat that knows no borders. Currently the numbers of people contracting it are doubling every 15-20 days in Liberia and every 25-30 days in Sierra Leone.

For Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, Ebola is a tragedy that touches every person. Thousands have seen family members succumb to the disease, and thousands more are struggling to feed their families now the price of rice and other basic foodstuffs has more than doubled. International companies have withdrawn, tourism has dried up, health care systems are at breaking point.  

Thanks to those brave and committed medical staff currently leading efforts to diagnose and treat Ebola sufferers, crucial steps are underway to contain and defeat the disease. A British nurse, William Pooley, who contracted the disease while caring for patients in Sierra Leone, has spoken movingly of the horror and misery that he witnessed. His testimony was a powerful call to international partners, gathered in London for a Conference on Defeating Ebola, to work together to provide the expertise, manpower and finances needed to tackle this crisis.

The UK has pledged £125 million to combat Ebola, as the largest single donor to the effort in Sierra Leone. We are supporting 700 beds in Ebola treatment centers to help up to 8,800 patients over 6 months, shoring up the country’s stretched public health services. We have military medics and engineers on the ground, and we’ve flown in ambulances, tents, incinerators and equipment and vital supplies. And this week we announced a huge increase in our practical contribution. We are deploying hundreds more military personnel, three Merlin helicopters and an aviation support ship, RFA Argus, to Sierra Leone. In total, Britain has  committed to provide more than 750 military personnel to this effort, supporting the establishment of  Ebola treatment centres and an Ebola Training Academy for healthcare workers, logisticians and hygienists.  

Innovative solutions

But more is needed. To get ahead of the curve we will need innovative solutions.  So we will also be launching rapid trials of community care units designed to isolate Ebola cases more quickly, and help develop cultural practices on burial rituals to reduce the risk of infection. We’re also working to accelerate vaccine trials.

The USA and France have made generous commitments to support the response in Liberia and Guinea. At the 2 October Defeating Ebola Conference in London, pledges were received from across the world, including a new coalition of NGOs, businesses, philanthropists and governments. We were delighted that the Philippines was represented at that conference. We are being joined by new partners such as Cuba and El Salvador. Over £100m was pledged and we are following up on offers to deploy hundreds of healthcare workers, including over 700 from the UK.  

But that was just the start. Others can, and must, do more. Every month that passes, the costs and personnel numbers needed to fight Ebola double. We need all those who pledged to help, now to turn their words into actions as a matter of extreme urgency. The people of West Africa need help now, not next month. This is not an African problem, it is a global problem. It needs a global response before it is too late. – Rappler.com

Philip Hammond is the British Foreign Secretary.