26th August, 2014
Eromosele Ebhomele
The United States Agency for International Development, USAID, has announced that it airlifted more than 16 tons of medical supplies and emergency equipment to Monrovia, Liberia on Tuesday as part of its ongoing efforts to combat the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in some parts of West Africa.
The USAID said the shipment came from its warehouse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and included “10,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE), two water treatment systems, two portable water tanks capable of storing 10,000 liters each, and 100 rolls of plastic sheeting, which can be used in the construction of Ebola treatment centres.”
The agency said the critical commodities would be distributed to affected areas throughout Liberia.
“We know that healthcare workers in Liberia and other affected countries are working at great personal risk to prevent, identify, and treat Ebola.
“The US is committed to working with the Liberian government, in close coordination with our international partners, to ensure that those working on the front line of this crisis get the medical supplies, training, and support needed to safely do their jobs,” Jeremy Konyndyk, Director of USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance was quoted in a statement Monday evening as saying.
The statement said the agency’s State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Defence (DOD), are assisting affected countries and international organisations responding to the outbreak.
Guinea, Liberia and, recently, Nigeria have been hit by the virus that has resulted in the death of over 2,000 people in the affected West African countries.
USAID said its activities in the affected countries include the provision of health equipment and other emergency supplies, support for public health messaging and technical expertise.
“In support of the affected countries, the United States has been engaged in fighting the west Africa Ebola outbreak since cases were first reported, and we have expanded our efforts and increased personnel in the region over the last several weeks in response to its growing severity.
“The US Government is working on an urgent basis with the World Health Organisation, the governments of the affected countries, and other partners like the UK, France, Germany, and Canada, to determine the greatest need and to deploy the most needed resources.
“We are also working closely with organizations such as the International Federation of the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and others to step up efforts on the ground to contain the Ebola outbreak,” the statement said adding that Konyndyk arrived in Monrovia on 24 August with Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the US CDC.
Their visit, the statement said, is to see the impact of the Ebola outbreak first-hand, assess response activities, and discuss disease prevention and treatment strategies with Liberian officials.
USAID had deployed a multi-agency Disaster Assistance Response Team, DART, on 5 August to coordinate the U.S. government’s response efforts in west Africa.
Since the outbreak was first reported in March 2014, USAID said it has committed more than $14.5 million to support the Ebola response.