KEY POINTS
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has urged Asian countries to send trained health workers to the West African countries hit by Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
UNMEER SRSG Banbury concluded his visit to the three affected countries in Liberia, where he had a meeting with the President and Vice President, among others.
Australia is contracting a private company to staff and operate an EVD Treatment Unit (ETU) in Sierra Leone, which is currently being built by the UK.
Key Political and Economic Developments
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday urged Asian countries to send trained health workers to the West African countries hit by Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), warning the focus on stricter border control was not the solution. He welcomed efforts by South Korea, China and Japan to send medical personnel or equipment to combat the outbreak. Asia must send more medical teams to the three affected countries, he said, adding that just 30 medical teams from around the world have gone to assist in the countries so far.
SRSG Banbury and the UNMEER Liberia ECM met with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the Vice President on Tuesday. They exchanged views on the ongoing operations in Liberia and the neighboring EVD-affected countries, with particular emphasis on the border areas. The upcoming ECOWAS meeting in Accra was also discussed. The President was optimistic about the progress made in fighting EVD, while recognizing there is no room for complacency. In Liberia, SRSG Banbury further visited the ETU at Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium and the newly constructed ETU at the former site of the Ministry of Defense.
A 112-member peacekeeping contingent returning to the Philippines from UNMIL in Liberia will be quarantined on a secluded island. The soldiers will have to stay on the island for 21 days.
Residents in Wonkifong, Guinea, approximately 90 km from Conakry demonstrated yesterday against the establishment of a new EVD treatment unit in their locality; security forces intervened to restore calm. Negotiations are underway to resolve the situation.
The UNMEER ECM in Guinea met with Hans Docter, Dutch Ambassador to Ghana and Dutch Special Envoy on Ebola. ECM Marcel Rudasingwa provided an update on EVD response efforts in Guinea and UNMEER’s contribution.
