The UN has described Ebola as the world’s “highest priority.” Anthony Banbury, head of the UN Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), began a tour of the three hardest-hit nations in the Liberian capital Monrovia setting out an ambitious goal to eradicate the deadly virus.
“The only way we will end this crisis is if we end every single last case of Ebola so there is no more risk of transmission to anyone, and when that’s accomplished, UNMEER will go home,” AFP quoted him as saying.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had told Banbury on his arrival in Liberia, the worst-hit nation with almost two-thirds of the 3,338 deaths in west Africa, that the virus had spread to all 15 of its counties.
The UN envoy said he was intent on contributing to “the highest priority for the international community -- for the whole world, not just the United Nations”.
On Friday, he is to move on to Sierra Leone and then Guinea on Sunday.
A charity, Save the Children, warned that five people are being infected with Ebola every hour in Sierra Leone and demand for treatment beds is far outstripping supply.
