Ebola: UN envoy likens final phase of response to 'looking for needles in haystacks'
Feb 19, 2015, at 06:30 pm
New York, Feb 19 (IBNS) The Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that the final phase of "getting to zero" cases may well be the hardest, saying the hunt to track down the virus is "like looking for needles in haystacks."
Ebola: vaccine trials can offer 'signs of hope' says UN health chief
Jan 09, 2015, at 07:35 pm
New York, Jan 9 (IBNS) The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday convened in Geneva its second ever high-level meeting on Ebola vaccines access and financing, to review the current status of clinical trials and plans for Phase II and Phase III efficacy trials.
Ban visits Ebola-hit West Africa, says zero cases "must be everyone's goal"
Dec 20, 2014, at 07:06 pm
New York, Dec 20 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic" about defeating the Ebola crisis in West Africa, as he made a series of visits to countries most-affected by the unprecedented outbreak, which has sickened some 18,000 people and killed close to 7,000 others throughout the region.
UN meeting urges critical improvements to health systems of Ebola-affected countries
Dec 14, 2014, at 04:00 am
New York, Dec 13 (IBNS) The international community must help Ebola-affected countries reboot their health systems so that they emerge from the current crisis more resilient and more focused on prevention efforts than ever before, a high-level meeting coordinated by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva heard on Friday.
Ebola: UN envoy says intense response needed for western Sierra Leone and Guinea-Mali border
Dec 10, 2014, at 03:18 pm
New York, Dec 10 (IBNS): The United Nations, working with its national and international partners to halt the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, is currently focusing attention on bringing down the high levels of transmission in western Sierra Leone and ensuring that cases do not cross the border from Guinea into neighbouring Mali, the UN Special Envoy on Ebola Dr. David Nabarro said on Tuesday.
World must do 'whatever it takes' to ensure recovery of Ebola-affected countries – Ban
Dec 06, 2014, at 02:17 pm
New York, Dec 6 (IBNS) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Fridayto members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) “to do whatever it takes†to help the West African countries hardest hit by Ebola grow back stronger and more resilient, while the head of the UN health agency noted that the "fear of Ebola is moving faster than the virus" itself.
Ebola: UN special envoy appeals to Liberians to remain vigilant, sustain response
Dec 04, 2014, at 03:41 pm
New York, Dec 4 (IBNS) The United Nations Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, on Wednesday took his message directly to the people of Liberia, applauding them for the progress made so far in combating the virus, but cautioning that "the most dangerous time is actually when it looks as though you are near a point where the disease is coming under control because people relax and stop being vigilant."
Ebola: UN health agency advises male survivors to abstain from sex for 3 months
Nov 29, 2014, at 03:18 pm
New York, Nov 29 (IBNS) The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday warned that it is possible for the Ebola virus to be present in semen for 3 months after recovery, as the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it plans to have 2,700 teams operating throughout villages in the remote forest areas of Guinea to educate villagers and monitor the epidemic at the community level.
Ebola: Dec 1 target for response may not be met in some areas of West Africa: UN
Nov 26, 2014, at 10:30 pm
New York, Nov 26 (IBNS): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that while Ebola response targets for December 1 in West Africa may be reached in many places, they may not be met in some areas, and confirmed two new cases in Mali amid ramped up efforts to reduce the likelihood that additional cases will be imported from neighbouring Guinea.
Ebola: Ban hopeful of outbreak's end by mid-2015, UN to set up response office in Mali
Nov 22, 2014, at 06:10 pm
New York, Nov 22 (IBNS) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said that by continuing to scale up the global fight against Ebola, there is hope the outbreak could be contained by mid-2015, but he emphasized that results to date are still uneven, and announced that the Organization’s top health officials will head to Mali, where the situation is still a cause of "deep concern."
Ebola cases no longer rising in Guinea, Liberia, UN health agency reports
Nov 20, 2014, at 10:19 pm
New York, Nov 20 (IBNS): The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today that the number of Ebola cases is “no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leoneâ€, and that preparedness teams have been sent this week to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal.
Defeating Ebola, 'a fearsome,' elusive enemy, requires scaling up response on the ground – UN
Nov 14, 2014, at 02:41 pm
New York, Nov 14 (IBNS) There has been important progress made in the global fight against Ebola but a scaling-up in the overall response remains necessary if the deadly outbreak is to be fully stopped, top United Nations officials told the General Assembly on Thursday as they cautioned against complacency in tackling the disease.
Ebola: UN special envoy says combating stigma integral to overall crisis response
Nov 13, 2014, at 09:28 pm
New York, Nov 13 (IBNS): The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, today made a passionate appeal to combat stigmatization surrounding the disease by calling for a global social media campaign to "express solidarity and to show we are anti-discrimination."
Ebola: reported denial of medical care on ships from West Africa draws UN concern
Nov 11, 2014, at 08:27 pm
New York, Nov 11 (IBNS) United Nations and other leading international transport, trade and tourism organizations on Monday expressed concern about the report denial of medical care for ill seafarers on board ships that had previously called at ports in Ebola-affected countries.
Ebola: UN says experimental vaccine trials in West Africa could begin by January
Nov 07, 2014, at 07:24 pm
New York, Nov 7 (IBNS) The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said the Ebola crisis response “needs to scale up, get better and perform faster,†as the UN health agency reported that if judged safe, larger scale trials of an experimental vaccine could be taken to hard-hit West African countries as early as January 2015.
Ebola: UN envoy concludes visits to affected countries, presents ‘robust’ recovery plan
Oct 28, 2014, at 09:46 pm
New York, Oct 28 (IBNS): The head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) has wrapped up his visits to the three West African countries battling the Ebola outbreak as part of the Organization’s ongoing efforts to drum up international support in tackling the deadly crisis, it was announced Monday.
UN chief stresses need for urgent global action as Ebola continues deadly rampage
Oct 17, 2014, at 09:50 pm
New York, Oct 17 (IBNS): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday called on the international community to step up its efforts to respond to the Ebola crisis and turn pledges into action, while the United Nations health agency warned of continuously deteriorating situation in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Funding gap looms amid efforts to tackle 'twin plagues' Ebola, ISIL, warns UN rights chief
Oct 17, 2014, at 09:44 pm
New York, Oct 17 (IBNS): Combating the "twin plagues" of Ebola and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), while addressing the largest number of forcibly displaced people since World War II amid budget cuts is like "being asked to use a boat and bucket to cope with a flood", the United Nations’ new human rights chief told journalists in Geneva Thursday.
'We are late, but not too late to fight and win this battle,' against Ebola – UN
Oct 11, 2014, at 06:47 am
New York, Oct 10 (IBNS) Declaring that the world has never seen anything like current Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa, senior United Nations officials on Friday warned that the virus is “far ahead†of the global response as it is morphing from a local to an international crisis requiring all countries to scale up efforts and financial commitments to bring an end to the scourge.
Ebola: UN agency launches initiative to tackle growing food security threat in West Africa
Oct 09, 2014, at 06:12 pm
New York, Oct 9 (JEN) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday is launching a programme that will assist 90,000 vulnerable households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon separately announced the appointment of the respective UN Crisis Managers in the three countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Ebola outbreak 'running' ahead of world's response, UN warns as funding lags
Oct 04, 2014, at 09:02 pm
New York, Oct 4 (IBNS) As the head of the United Nations mission working to stop the Ebola outbreak continued his visit to hard-hit countries in West Africa on Friday, the world body’s humanitarian wing said funding for the international response is lagging, with only 26 per cent of the $988 million needed having been received thus far.
US diagnoses first case of Ebola
Oct 01, 2014, at 05:25 pm
Washington, Oct 1 (IBNS): The United States diagnosed its first ever case of Ebola in a man who was infected in Liberia and travelled to Texas, media reports said.
World grossly ill-prepared to 'douse wildfire' sparked by Ebola, West African leaders tell UN
Sep 30, 2014, at 05:53 pm
New York, Sept 30 (IBNS) Leaders from Sierra Leone and Liberia, the two countries, along with Guinea at the frontlines of the battle against the unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa, urged the General Assembly on Monday ensure the United Nations mounted a stronger, better coordinated response "to end this grave threat to our collective survival."
Head of new UN Ebola emergency response mission arrives in Ghana
Sep 30, 2014, at 05:37 pm
New York, Sept 30 (IBNS) The head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) on Monday joined an advance team deployed in Accra, Ghana, to ensure the rapid, effective and coherent action necessary to stop the outbreak, treat the infected, ensure essential services, preserve stability and prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
Ebola: As global response lags, UN warns 20,000 may be infected by November
Sep 24, 2014, at 04:53 pm
New York, Sept 24 (IBNS) Unless efforts to control the Ebola outbreak in West Africa are ramped up, more than 20,000 people could be infected by early November, according to a joint United Nations study published on Tuesday that predicts number of cases will climb exponentially.
Ebola: Joint UN assessment response team heads to Liberia
Sep 20, 2014, at 04:48 pm
New York, Sept 20 (IBNS) Hours after the United Nations decided to establish an emergency health mission to tackle the West African Ebola outbreak, a joint disaster team is heading to Liberia to assess the response to the virus, while a senior UN health official said that a vaccine could be ready by the end of this year.
UN announces mission to combat Ebola, declares outbreak 'threat to peace and security'
Sep 19, 2014, at 09:18 pm
New York, Sept 19 (IBNS) The Security Council, in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis, on Thursday declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a threat to peace and security, asSecretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the United Nations will deploy a new emergency health mission to combat one of most horrific diseases on the planet that has shattered the lives of millions.
Ebola response must be based on 'scientific evidence, not on fear,' urge top UN officials
Sep 03, 2014, at 06:42 pm
New York, Sept 3 (IBNS) Misinformation about Ebola can only exacerbate an already fragile situation, said United Nations officials at the highest level on Tuesday, urging international action and solidarity to help West African countries deal with the myriad health and socioeconomic impacts of current outbreak of the deadly virus.
UN health agency identifies countries at risk for spread of Ebola
Aug 30, 2014, at 05:30 pm
New York, Aug 30 (IBNS) The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has identified six countries at risk for spread of the Ebola virus disease, adding that it is working with them to ensure that full surveillance, preparedness and response plans are in place.
821 passengers being tracked for Ebola: Health Ministry
Aug 28, 2014, at 05:59 pm
New Delhi, Aug 28 (IBNS): The Health Ministry on Thursday said that as many as 821 passengers, most of them from Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, were being tracked for Ebola in the country, media reports said.