Ethiopia to deploy health workers to Ebola-stricken West Africa

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

October 24, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia has announced that it is sending health professionals to Ebola-hit West African nations as part of ongoing collective efforts to contain the outbreak of the deadly virus.

At a news conference on Friday, Ethiopian health minister Kesetebirhan Admassu said the Horn of Africa nation will deploy 200 volunteer health professionals to West Africa.

Ethiopia’s decision comes one week after the African Union (AU) appealed to member states to contribute health workers to avert the outbreak, which also has become an international threat.

Admassu said the deployment, which will take place in two rounds, was also a “sign of solidarity” to the countries affected by the epidemic.

“Our support to West Africa will mainly focus on three areas: case management, supporting disease surveillance in the affected countries and proper organisation of community care, which Ethiopia is better able to deliver,” he told Journalists.

The health minister said those Ethiopian professionals due to be deployed will include medical doctors, nurses, field epidemiologists, environmental health and public health specialists.

Addis Ababa has also pledged $500,000 to help support the three most-affected countries, namely Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

AU chief Nkosazana Dliamini Zuma said other African countries have also pledged to send some 1,000 volunteer health workers to the Ebola-stricken countries.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ebola has killed nearly 5,000 people since the outbreak was reported some eight months ago.

Among the death toll is 443 health workers, of whom 244 have died, said the WHO.

Mali became the latest West African country to be affected by the virus, after the death of a two-year-old girl last week.

The disease has also spread to the West, with cases reported in the US and Europe.

The current outbreak is the deadliest since Ebola was discovered in 1976 and has raised fears of a global epidemic.

(ST)