A Danish vessel carrying vehicles and information technology equipment arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone today for use in the fight against Ebola in West Africa, where new cases are declining in main towns yet springing up in more sparsely populated areas.
The roll-on-roll-off vessel Ark Futura transported 262 vehicles, along with eight containers of information technology equipment offered as part of the Danish government's support to the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
"What we have to realize is that we are reaching a point where the big outbreak is over but what we are witnessing in all the countries are small outbreaks here and there," said the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative and Head of UNMEER, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. "To really get to zero, to get rid of the virus, we need to go to the district level, we need to get to the counties, and for that we need logistics. This is why these 262 cars that are coming from our operations in UNAMID in Sudan are significant."
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt arrived in Freetwon with Ould Cheikh Ahmed to see her country's contributions in action. She is the first western leader to visit Sierra Leone since the Ebola outbreak began.
"Denmark always wants to help wherever we can. Denmark is one of the countries in the world that try to put our efforts where it is needed," said Thorning-Schmidt. "Right now it is needed here in Sierra Leone and other countries in the region. We need to fight Ebola and we are doing many different things to help fight Ebola."
To date, Denmark has committed at least USD $21 million to the Ebola response, including preparedness and prevention activities throughout the region. Danish health workers have also recently been posted to Port Loko, and Denmark has contributed to the World Food Programme for humanitarian air services in Liberia. Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, thousands of metric tonnes of shipments to the affected countries have been organized from the Air Coordination Cell, including inter-agency and free flights.
After its first stop in Freetown, the Ark Futura will embark for Monrovia and then Conakry. Included in the 262 vehicles on board the vessel are 11 ambulances, which will be distributed across the three countries, as well as 166 4x4 Toyota Troop Carrying Hard Top Vehicles. The eight containers have vehicle spare parts, antenna towers and accessories, and other telecommunications equipment valued at over USD $1.1 million.
During her visit, Thorning-Schmidt met with the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, and also visited the Command and Control Centre for the Western Area. Meanwhile, Ould Cheikh Ahmed met with the Mano River Union (MRU) Secretariat, an inter-state body encompassing Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d'Ivoire. One of the first institutions to provide financing in the fight against Ebola, the MRU has been a key player in infrastructure development and cross-border cooperation.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed will continue on to Mali, where the end of the Ebola outbreak was formally declared over after having no new cases in 42 days.