Ebola Can be Defeated by the End of the Year – WHO

The World Health Organisation has said that although the Ebola Virus Disease shook the world, the virus can be defeated before the end of the year.

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization said this while addressing the United Nations Security Council.

She said “International organizations continue to support national efforts, with several thousand specialists working alongside national staff in villages and towns as well as in the capital cities. If the current intensity of case detection and contact tracing is sustained, the virus can be soundly defeated by the end of this year. That means getting to zero and staying at zero.”

Dr Chan also explained that lack of good public health facilities fuelled the outbreak.

She said “The outbreak, by far the largest, longest, and most severe ever known, shook the world and challenged the international community, crying out for the most powerful possible response. They asked for something we had never done before.

“What explains the scale and duration of the outbreak? What allowed the virus to rage out of control? What are the vulnerabilities that might let similar, or even worse, events threaten the world? What specific preparedness measures can prevent their occurrence?

“Most agree that the lack of public health capacities and infrastructures created the greatest vulnerability.”

The President of the Council and a Nigerian, Professor Joy Agwu also added that Ebola must not recur.

She said “A programme of work for the month of our presidency, we want ted to highlight the question of Ebola and to make sure it is on the front burner within the international community to make sure that we not only maintain a zero disease but almost at the point where it does not recur.”