UN vows central role in fighting Ebola epidemic

Monrovia - The United Nations vowed on
Saturday to play a "strong role" in helping
Liberia and its neighbours fight the deadly
outbreak of Ebola in west Africa, which it said
could take months to bring it under control.
Liberia has been particularly hard hit by the
epidemic that has swept relentlessly across the
region since March, accounting for almost half
of the 1 427 deaths.
In recognition of the deteriorating situation,
neighbouring Ivory Coast announced on
Saturday it had closed its borders with Liberia
and Guinea in a bid to protect its citizens.
Also Read: Sierra Leone makes harbouring
Ebola victims a crime
"Ebola in Liberia must be addressed to ensure
a stable economy, future and society," said
Karin Landgren, the UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon's special representative for the
country.
"The magnitude of this outbreak requires a
higher level of coordination than previous
responses and the UN Mission in Liberia will
play a strong role in this effort," she said in a
statement on Saturday.
Her comments were echoed by Dr David
Nabarro, the UN's new pointman on Ebola,
who arrived in the region on Thursday to tour
the Ebola-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra
Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.
Nabarro, a British physician tasked with
coordinating the global response to the worst-
ever outbreak of the deadly virus, said the UN
would "ensure that adequate resources are
given to sectors that need it most".
A day earlier, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) warned it could take "several months"
to bring the epidemic under control.
"This is not something to turn around
overnight, it is not going to be easy; we expect
several months of hard work," said the UN
agency's Assistant Director-General, Dr Keiji
Fukuda, who is accompanying Nabarro on his
tour.
Death toll rises
Their visit has coincided with a surge in new
cases of Ebola in the region, as affected
countries struggle to contain the spread of the
killer virus.
The WHO said Friday that the death toll had
risen to 1 427 out of more than 2 600 cases -
with 77 succumbing to the disease between
August 18 and 20.
Britain's department of health said on
Saturday that a British national who lives in
Sierra Leone has tested positive for Ebola.
The unidentified person is the first British
citizen to have contracted the disease.
Nigeria, which has seen progress in battling
the outbreak, has suffered five deaths to date.
But in a worrying sign, officials said on Friday
that two more people had tested positive for
Ebola.
Liberia remains the worst-affected country
with 624 deaths. Guinea has seen 406 people
die while in Sierra Leone, 392 have succumbed
to the haemorrhagic fever.
Also Read: Ivory Coast closes borders with
Ebola-hit neighbours
Aid workers said crematoriums in the Liberian
capital Monrovia are struggling to deal with
dozens of bodies arriving every day, and
earlier this week, violence erupted in an Ebola
quarantine zone in the capital after soldiers
opened fire on protesting crowds.
The failure of west African countries to bring
the epidemic under control has worried its
neighbours and nations further afield.
Many flights to the region have been
cancelled, and authorities around the world
have adopted measures to screen travellers
arriving from affected nations.
The move by the Ivory Coast to close its
borders with Guinea and Liberia came just
days after Senegal did the same with Guinea,
where the outbreak is thought to have begun.
It came in the wake of the first reported Ebola
deaths in the southeast of Liberia, which
borders the Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Cameroon has suspended imports
of meat and animals "sensitive" to the Ebola
virus, an official said Saturday.
'Pariah states'
The extreme measures taken against affected
countries, especially by their neighbours, has
caused friction in the region.
Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, the chairperson of the
Sierra Leone's presidential task force on
Ebola, said he was "surprised" by the lack of
solidarity among African countries.
"[It] gives the impression that we are pariah
states," Kargo said on state television, in
reference to a South African ban on non-
citizens travelling from Sierra Leone, Guinea
and Liberia.
Also Read: Philippines recalls peacekeepers
from Liberia over Ebola
"The epidemic is not manmade but a natural
phenomenon, we did not create it," said
Kargbo, who is a presidential advisor and
former information minister.
"Once we get over the epidemic, we will begin
to look at ourselves to know who our friends
are," he added.
No cure or vaccine is currently available for
the deadly virus, which is spread by close
contact with body fluids, meaning patients
must be isolated.