HIGHLIGHTS
• The UN Secretary-General expressed his concern at the imposition of restrictions applying to healthcare workers who have travelled to the most affected countries.
• UNMEER ECM’s for Guinea and Sierra Leone met with the US Ambassador to the United Nations to discuss the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak response and underscored the criticality of concerted action to bring the crisis under control.
• UNMEER, in cooperation with the Logistics Cluster, air-lifted 1,050 kg of personal protective equipment (PPE) and body bags from Monrovia to Mali in response to the first confirmed case of EVD in that country.
• UNMEER has commenced the first regular Conakry-Freetown-Monrovia-Accra flight.
Key Political and Economic Developments
The UN Secretary-General expressed his concern at the recent restrictions put in place in several countries and localities applying to people who have travelled to the most affected countries. These restrictions have put particular pressure on health care workers and those who are on the frontline of the EVD response. The Secretary-General stressed that returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity. They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science. Those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatized. The Secretary-General reiterated that the best way for any country to protect itself from EVD is to stop the outbreak at its source in West Africa. This requires considerable international health care worker support and in return for this support, we have an obligation to look after them.
The UNMEER Ebola Crisis Manager (ECM) for Guninea, Marcel Rudasingwa, met with US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power. The ECM briefed on UNMEER's main lines of activity and outlined its plan to achieve these objectives. The ECM emphasized that UNMEER's priority was to align its support to the Government's national plan to ensure a coherent and effective response.
Ambassador Power underlined the importance of ensuring that the UN's work was based on comparative advantages. The ECM also met with the British Ambassador and the EU High Level Mission on Ebola to brief on the UNMEER operational plan. The EU delegation expressed strong support for UNMEER and reiterated the importance of harmonization of activities undertaken by partners. The ECM met with President Condé and partners to discuss the finalization of a global operational plan for Guinea. The President also requested information from partners on key implementers, activities underway and a clear timeline on deliverables.The UNMEER ECM for Sierra Leone, Amadu Kamara, and UN Ebola response lead agencies met with US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, in Freetown to discuss ongoing Ebola response efforts and gaps. This coincided with the movement of the National Ebola Response Centre to the premises of the former Special Court for Sierra Leone, to be co-located with UNMEER, the UK military involved in EVD response, and pillar leads.