Ebola's critical turning point

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that critical turning point is being faced as the pattern of the Ebola outbreak has changed with a significant decline in the number of new cases in the three affected countries.
However, Ban stressed at an informal meeting of General Assembly on Ebola that incidence rates rose again in Guinea and Sierra Leone in recent weeks.
To get the situation further under control, the UN system, through UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), is mobilizing surge efforts to support national and local authorities, he noted.
Furthermore, Ban stressed that as the situation improves, the time will come for critical functions to transition progressively and seamlessly from UNMEER to the UN agencies, funds and programs while significant additional resources will be required by the UN system.
He then appealed to Member States to stay engaged and sustain the work against Ebola, providing the resources needed to get to zero cases and to ensure that reconstruction and recovery can occur without delay.
On his part, the President of the General Assembly, Sam Kutesa commended the people and governments in the affected countries for their unflinching efforts, and also thanked the regional and international partners for their support that has made a tangible difference.
The most-affected countries still face serious challenges, particularly with regard to their long-term social-economic recovery.
The devastating impact of the Ebola outbreak could seriously compromise their sustainable development efforts.
Key sectors remain gravely affected, he said, where there is great risk that long after this epidemic has passed, the healthcare crisis in the most affected countries could continue; resulting in many otherwise preventable deaths.
"As we contemplate the long-term needs of the region," he said, the high-level international conference on Ebola on March 3 in Brussels-organized by the European Union and other key partners- represents an important opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with the countries most affected by Ebola.
On his capacity, the Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Ebola David Nabarro told the reporters leaving the meeting, that the pattern of the outbreak has changed, now it is 10 percent of the cases that they had in September.
"Its tantalizing," he said.
Quoting a British saying, "Looking for needles in haystacks," Nabarro told the press: "You can imagine how hard the job is."
In order to get to zero cases, he said that they are focusing on constant vigilance as well as proper surveillance.
Yet, he noted that it does not stop here, "now we have to work on recovery."
Later this week the UN official confirmed that they will be asking for more resources.
Source: KUNA