Ebola crisis demands a stronger, more co-ordinated international response

The impact of the deadly Ebola virus is evident from the moment one arrives in the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown. Passengers landing in the country immediately have their temperatures taken and are scanned for symptoms of the deadly disease, before being directed to scrub their hands with a chlorine solution.

Last week I travelled to Sierra Leone to witness the impact of Ebola on a country and people who were just recovering from more than a decade of horrific civil war. Sierra Leone, while still desperately poor, was starting to see the first fruits of economic growth and social development.

Tragically, this hard-won progress is now in peril. The World Bank has warned Ebola could cost the economies of West Africa almost €33 billion by the end of 2015. Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea are among the countries least-equipped to cope with an epidemic of this scale.

My visit took me to the front line of the Ebola response. At an Ebola Command Centre, I saw staff stretched to their limits, working to log new cases on simple white boards. They are struggling to keep track of this devastating epidemic with extremely rudimentary tools and systems.

I heard the frustration in the voices of the local community, left scared and hopeless by the time it is taking for sufferers to be diagnosed and for the bodies of victims to be removed.

In a small community health clinic, babies are born and mothers treated in absolutely dire conditions. But, in fact, these are the lucky ones: because people are terrified of contracting Ebola if they attend a health clinic, they are staying at home and dying in childbirth or from diseases such as malaria and typhoid.

I visited a very basic orphanage, which is home to more and more children who have lost parents to Ebola.

Ebola is a relatively new disease and many communities are not informed about the preventative measures critical to halting its spread. Distrust and fear are prompting them to deny access to health workers and take sick relatives home. Even basic protective equipment such as gloves and masks, that are crucial to protecting those caring for Ebola-sufferers, are in short supply.

As the first European Minister to visit the region since the epidemic struck, I am determined to bear witness to the conditions on the ground and the immense suffering of the affected communities. Ireland is playing a strong role in the global effort to combat the epidemic and, as a long-standing partner of Sierra Leone and Liberia, we are well-placed to advocate internationally for a stronger and more co-ordinated international response. Ireland is respected internationally for the quality and effectiveness of our development programme, Irish Aid. Our voice counts.

I was proud to see the funding and supplies Ireland has provided are being used very effectively to bring relief to families and communities on the front line. Ireland is financing the running of two Ebola Treatment Centres in Sierra Leone and Liberia, providing extra beds, ambulances, and practical training to staff. The €2.5 million we have provided since this crisis struck is also funding Unicef to provide life-saving nutritional supplies to children at risk. While in Freetown, I saw the distribution of 42 tonnes of Irish-supplied blankets, tarpaulin, tents, mosquito nets, soap, jerry cans, and water tanks.

During my meetings with President Ernest Bai Koroma and the minister for health, Dr Abubakar Fofanah, I restated Ireland’s support for Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are partner countries for Irish Aid. Long before this crisis, we worked closely with the government and partners in both countries to improve their health systems and tackle malnutrition. But the latest grim estimates show the scale of the challenge facing us all: more than 7,400 people across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea have contracted Ebola, almost half of whom have died.

Almost 40 per cent of deaths have been reported in the past 21 days, which means that efforts to halt the spread of the disease have not yet been successful.

The rate of fatalities among health workers is exceptionally high. It is estimated that well over 200 national and expatriate doctors, nurses, hygienists and support staff have died of the disease. I pay tribute to each of them and offer my sincere condolences to their families.

In addition to the rise in fatalities as a result of childbirth, typhoid and malaria, the international travel restrictions and local quarantines are affecting trade, business and farming. This will have disastrous consequences on the economies of West Africa as a whole. Schools have closed indefinitely, meaning children could lose a whole year of education.

The international community is now fully mobilising to fight the Ebola virus. Significant pledges have been made in response to the UN’s appeal for funding of €1 billion, according to the new UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, whom I met in Sierra Leone.

The EU has pledged €180 million in addition to individual member state contributions. EU mobile laboratories are in place in affected areas to help diagnose victims and train laboratory technicians. EU funding will also help strengthen local healthcare systems and improve food security, water and sanitation.

Despite this progress, we must admit that halting and eliminating the disease and restoring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to the path to economic growth and development will take many months, even years, to achieve. Ireland will continue to stand in solidarity with their people as they recover from this devastating epidemic. I will examine what extra assistance Ireland can provide, and how the effectiveness of the global response can be further strengthened.

West Africa is at the centre of a global crisis. It will continue to spread and cause utter devastation, unless we continue to take strong action and practical measures to control and contain the disease.

Seán Sherlock is Minister of State for Development, Trade Promotion and North-South Co-operation