NEW YORK, October 15 (RIA Novosti) – UN Security Council member-states have agreed that more aid needs to be provided to West African countries, hit by the Ebola virus epidemic, a statement released by the Council Wednesday said.
"[The UN Security Council] urged all Member States, and bilateral partners and multilateral organizations, to accelerate and dramatically expand the provision of resources and financial and material assistance [to West African states]," the statement said.
According to the statement, UN Security Council members "reiterated their grave concern about the unprecedented extent of the Ebola outbreak in Africa" and "affirmed the importance of preparedness by all Member States to detect, prevent, respond to, isolate and mitigate suspected cases of Ebola within and across borders".
The UN Security Council stressed that it is important to "maintain trade and transport links with the most affected countries" as isolation, resulting from trade and travel restrictions imposed against West African Ebola-hit states, could have a "detrimental effect".
Earlier on Wednesday, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Eric Porterfield told RIA Novosti that travel bans are ineffective in containing the current Ebola epidemic and could significantly damage the economies of the countries that are currently fighting against the virus.
Some airlines such as Air France and British Airways have already imposed a ban on flights, arriving from Ebola-stricken countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal.
The current Ebola epidemic, which is the world's largest to date, broke out in February in Guinea and soon spread to the neighboring countries. Some Ebola cases have been reported in Europe and the United States.
According to the latest WHO estimates, Ebola has killed over 4,400 people.
