Emergency Meeting Ends with Agreement on Ebola Response
WHO called the Emergency Ministerial meeting on Ebola Virus Disease, held in Accra, and it ended July 3 with health ministers agreeing on priority actions to end the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The World Health Organization announced that a two-day Emergency Ministerial meeting on Ebola Virus Disease, held in Accra, concluded July 3 with health ministers agreeing on priority actions to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. More than 750 cases and 445 deaths have been reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia since March 2014. The ministers' communiqué stated the current situation poses a serious threat to all countries in the region and beyond and called for immediate action.
Dr. Luis Sambo, WHO's regional director for Africa, said during the closing session, "We have adopted an inter-country strategy to tackle this outbreak. It's time for concrete action to put an end to the suffering and deaths caused by Ebola virus disease and prevent its further spread."
WHO will establish a Sub-Regional Control Center in Guinea to act as a coordinating unit. The priority actions for the affected countries include mobilizing community, religious, and political leaders to improve awareness and understanding of the disease; stronger surveillance; and organizing cross-border consultations to facilitate the exchange of information. The delegates urged partners to continue providing technical and financial support and to work with WHO to effectively coordinate the response.