BRUSSELS: The European Union urged the international community yesterday to make up for “precious time” lost in the response to the deadly Ebola outbreak in west Africa, calling for more contributions to
fight the crisis.
The worst-ever Ebola contagion has killed more than 2,400 people in west Africa since it erupted earlier this year and aid agencies deplore an inadequate international response to an emergency that shows no sign of abating.
The United Nations said last week Ebola cases are multiplying “faster than the capacity to manage them” and the president of Liberia, with more than half the victims, has warned the outbreak is destroying the country’s
social fabric.
Several months into the crisis, an international response is now beginning to get on track, with the EU and the US each beginning to step up plans to make up the lost ground. “We are behind the curve and for a reason,” EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said at the special talks in Brussels to devise a Europe-wide response to the outbreak. “When the warning signs were there, it took some time for the international community to pay attention. Precious time was lost.” To make up the ground, the commission last week announced ¤150m in aid to fight the crisis and Georgieva yesterday urged member states to add more.
AFP
