N. Darfur, UNAMID impose travel ban on peacekeepers to Ebola-affected countries
September 7, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The North Darfur state ministry of health and the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) agreed on Sunday that troops from Ebola-affected nations should not return to their home country due to the spread of the fatal virus in West Africa.
In a recent report the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia have confirmed cases of Ebola.
Nigeria and Sierra Leone are among the countries contributing to military and police personnel of the hybrid force.
The ministry of health in North Darfur state and UNAMID “agreed on the need to not authorise UNAMID troops from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, to return to their country for holidays due to the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic in those countries,” reported the official news agency SUNA on Sunday.
The secretary-general of the North Darfur ministry of health, Ali Ismail Yahya, told the official agency that the ban would be lifted when a cure for the Ebola is found.
Last August, UNAMID said no case of Ebola has been recorded among its troops and disclosed the imposition of restrictive measures on the travel of its staff to and from West Africa.
“As such, in a three-stage verification process, all UNAMID personnel travelling to and from West Africa have to undergo strict medical procedures with UN-certified medical staff, prior to their departure to West Africa, prior to their return to the Mission and upon their return to the Mission,” said a statement released on 7 August.
(ST)