World response to West Africa on Ebola, shameful. We are completely amazed by the lack of willingness and professionalism and coordination to tackle this epidemic, the groups operations director, Brice de le Vingne, told the Financial Times, saying Liberia, where MSF is scaling up treatment centers, is a country on the verge of collapse. We have been screaming for months, he said. The group says there is nowhere near the assistance needed, despite recent efforts. Only after a traveler from Liberia took the virus to oil-rich Nigeria, Africas most populous nation and host to large international investments and businesses, did the global response reach even the current modest levels. The World Health Organization this month is launching a U.S. $100 million disaster plan, after exhausting previous contributions of $7 million. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has sent 19 people to work in Liberia, and Public Affairs Director Barbara Reynolds says at least 60 CDC people are in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, plus Nigeria. Nobody who has been working on the Ebola crisis in Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia thinks thats close to whats needed. Contrast that with the world response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake. Over $3.5 billion was donated by governments, organizations and individuals. Within 24 hours, the small nation of Israel had equipped a plane with emergency medical supplies, and 40 doctors and 20 nurses and 20 medics were able to set up a field hospital on arrival – including a patient identification system and electronic medical records. More than 300 CDC staff went to Haiti to assist in the recovery, including battling the ensuing cholera epidemic. In much of North America, Latin America and Europe, commercial businesses put out collection boxes for relief donations. Individuals responded massively. Nothing like that is in place for west Africa.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 20:50:23 +0000
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