Updated 3:42 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has forwarded to the United Nations its proposals on helping west African states hit by the deadly Ebola virus, Russian sanitary chief Anna Popova said Friday.
“At the moment, the United Nations has assumed the role of a coordinator. We welcome it, because coordination of efforts of all states is needed. We had meetings and talks, we explained our capabilities and proposals. We are now waiting for certain decisions to be made. Currently, we are discussing what types of assistance are needed,” Popova said.
On Thursday UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a 20-fold increase in international assistance to West African countries in their fight against Ebola, including sending more mobile laboratories, protective equipment and trained medical personnel to these countries.
A team of Russian epidemiologists, virologists and bacteriologists from Rospotrebnadzor is currently stationed in Guinea and, according to Popova, Russia is considering sending more teams of Russian healthcare workers to fight the spread of the deadly virus in West Africa.
The most recent Ebola epidemic broke out in Guinea and spread out to the neighboring countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal. According to the WHO, more than 3,800 people have lost their lives to Ebola.
