KEY POINTS
UNMEER SRSG Anthony Banbury warned the UN General Assembly that the reappearance of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Mali illustrates the threat that the virus still poses to the region.
A team of FAO consultants in Guinea found that while the hunting and consuming of bush meat had decreased due to sensitization on EVD transmission, the practice persists in most places.
A total of 14,248 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD have been reported. There have been 5,180 reported deaths.
Key Political and Economic Developments
UNMEER SRSG Anthony Banbury warned the UN General Assembly that EVD is an elusive disease that has just reappeared in Mali where it was thought to be under control, demonstrating the threat that the virus still poses to the region. He said the international community is having enough challenges trying to mobilize resources to respond to the crisis in hardest-hit Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea and any outbreaks in other countries would be "truly devastating." He added that "Ebola is a fearsome enemy and we will not win by chasing it. We must get ahead of it."
In a broadcast to the nation, the president of Liberia has announced that she will not renew the state of emergency. Nonetheless, many current measures will remain in place for now. The curfew will be reduced. The areas affected by EVD will continue to have tighter restrictions.
Mali said it was reinforcing health controls at border posts but has no plans to close its frontiers after a man with EVD arrived from Guinea and infected others, including a nurse who has died of the virus. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta also urged the World Health Organization (WHO) and health services in Mali and neighboring states to set up a permanent information exchange to disseminate information about public health and hygiene.