UNITED NATIONS, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - With the number of Ebola cases doubling every three weeks, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday proposed the Security Council to establish an emergency health mission to address the lethal threat.
"I have decided to establish a UN emergency health mission, combining the World Health Organization's strategic perspective with a very strong logistics and operational capability," the UN Secretary General announced.
Ban said that this international mission will be called the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response or UNMEER, and "will have five priorities: stopping the outbreak, treating the infected, ensuring essential services, preserving stability and preventing further outbreaks."
This Ebola outbreak was first reported in Guinea in March and then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. As of September 16, according to the World Health Organization, there are 4,985 reported cases and 2,461 deaths from Ebola, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ban said on Thursday that in these three countries "the disease is destroying health systems. More people are not dying in Liberia from treatable ailments and common medical conditions, than from Ebola."
Ban said, "the outbreak is the largest the world has ever seen. The number of cases is doubling every three weeks. There will soon be more cases in Liberia alone than in the four-decade history of the disease."
The impact is more than medical, Ban said, adding that "inflation and food prices are rising. Transport and social services are being disrupted."
Ban on Thursday said "I welcome the resolution to be adopted today by the Security Council. Tomorrow, I will speak with the General Assembly."
Looking forward to next week's UN General Debate, Ban said "one week from today we will gather at the highest level to mobilize political will to meet this extraordinary challenge."
