AKIPRESS.COM - The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said that the number of Ebola cases is “no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leone”, and that preparedness teams have been sent this week to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal.
Earlier today, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, had appealed for funding for Ebola preparedness in the swath of Africa consisting of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal making up one of the poorest regions in the world.
WHO, in its most recent update, said the evolving Ebola outbreak “highlights the considerable risk of cases being imported into unaffected countries.”
“With adequate levels of preparation, however, such introductions of the disease can be contained before they develop into large outbreaks,” it said.
WHO attributed the success of Nigeria and Senegal in halting Ebola transmission to “strong political leadership, early detection and response, public awareness campaigns, and strong support from partner organizations.”
WHO identified the 15 countries that have been prioritized for technical assistance on preparedness from specialist WHO teams and partners: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Togo.