Flying into the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic

On the flight from Brussels to Monrovia (Liberia), it literally was a “plane full of good Samaritans.” Almost everyone on board was going to help with the Ebola epidemic.

There were dozens of U.S. military personnel, a bunch of medical teams from NGOs and a few guys wearing hats that had “public health” written on them.

The two men sitting next to me were U.S. Army engineers coming to build an Ebola treatment unit in Liberia. One of the guys said he was happy to finally be using his engineering skills to build something instead of just searching for bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The three women sitting behind me on the plane were health workers coming to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders. They had taken time off from their jobs for the trip and had just spent four days learning to treat Ebola patients at a mock Ebola treatment center in Brussels.

With the third Ebola case reported in the U.S. last week, we’ve been hearing so much about shutting down commercial flights to and from West Africa. Sitting on the plane to Monrovia, I was struck by how essential these flights are to stopping the epidemic and getting help to millions of people.

[NPR]

3 Reasons the US military should not be fighting Ebola

President Obama is sending thousands of U.S. troops to West Africa to fight the deadly Ebola virus. Their mission will be to construct treatment centers and provide medical training to health-care workers in the local communities.

Here are 3 reasons why militarizing humanitarian aid is a very bad idea, according to a Reason.TV piece:

1. Militarized Aid Erodes Humanitarian Principles – Humanitarian aid must be perceived as neutral and not driven by political or military objectives. Using the military in a humanitarian crisis works against that and potentially instigates further unrest.

2. Militarized Aid is Ineffective in the Long Term – Militarized aid is often backed by huge budgets that are supposed to be spent quickly. The pressure to spend massive amounts is often coupled with pressure to achieve short-term political goals. That in turn translates into an ineffective use of funds.

3. Militarized Aid Diminishes the Supply of Civil Aid – By constantly relying on the military for humanitarian efforts, we’re stifling efforts to grow civilian-led organizations that can handle the complicated logistics necessary to address large-scale humanitarian crises.

US humanitarian aid going to ISIS

While U.S. warplanes strike at the militants of the so-called Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq, truckloads of U.S. and Western aid has been assisting them to build their terror-inspiring “Caliphate.” The aid—mainly food and medical equipment—is meant for Syrians displaced from their hometowns, and for hungry civilians. It is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, European donors, and the United Nations.

Aid convoys have to pay off ISIS emirs (leaders) for the convoys to enter the eastern Syrian extremist strongholds. “The convoys have to be approved by ISIS and you have to pay them: the bribes are disguised and itemized as transportation costs,” says an aid coordinator who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition he not be identified in this article. The kickbacks are either paid by foreign or local non-governmental organizations tasked with distributing the aid, or by the Turkish or Syrian transportation companies contracted to deliver it. And there are fears the aid itself isn’t carefully monitored enough, with some sold off on the black market or used by ISIS to win hearts and minds by feeding its fighters and its subjects.

Aid coordinators with NGOs partnering USAID and other Western government agencies, including Britain’s Department for International Development, say ISIS insist that the NGOs, foreign and local, employ people ISIS approves on their staffs inside Syria. “There is always at least one ISIS person on the payroll; they force people on us,” says an aid coordinator. “And when a convoy is being prepared, the negotiations go through them about whether the convoy can proceed. They contact their emirs and a price is worked out. We don’t have to wrangle with individual ISIS field commanders once approval is given to get the convoy in, as the militants are highly hierarchical.” He adds: “None of the fighters will dare touch it, if an emir has given permission.”

Many aid workers are uncomfortable with what’s happening. And the State Department official said he, too, was conflicted about the programs. “Is this helping the militants by allowing them to divert money they would have to spend on food? If aid wasn’t going in, would they let people starve? And is it right for us to withhold assistance and punish civilians? … Are we helping indirectly the militants to build their Caliphate? I wrestle with this.”

[Daily Beast]

The 40-year history of Ebola

The humanitarian crisis wrought by the deadly Ebola virus raging through West Africa will not be over until a vaccine is developed, the scientist who discovered the virus has warned. The virus continues its unprecedented pace, invading and destroying vast swathes of West African countries and it will continue to do so if drastic action is not taken on the front line.

It is in West Africa that the fight against Ebola must be waged, if the region is to survive. The international response is finally coming up to speed with the US and UK leading the way, with the ‘abysmal reaction by the rest of Europe’, prompting calls that more can be done.

Professor Peter Piot, part of the team who identified the Ebola virus in north western Zaire in 1976, warned the crisis has spiraled out of control. In theory Ebola is very easy to control, but it has got completely out of hand,’ he said, speaking at a seminar at Oxford University. ‘This is no longer an epidemic, it is a humanitarian crisis. … The good news is I think this is the last Ebola outbreak where we only have isolation and quarantine to treat. … Hopefully we will have a drugs and vaccines to offer in Africa.’

‘Most of these outbreaks have been in central Africa. There was one in Ivory Coast but that was a different strain from 1976, ‘ he said. ‘They have mostly been contained to the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan. … That is why there wasn’t much interest in this outbreak at the start, because it wasn’t really a big issue. All that changed this year.’

The story of the biggest Ebola outbreak in history began in Guinea in December last year. But it was three months before the authorities diagnosed Ebola and reported the situation to the World Health Organisation (WHO). By March 25, relatively few cases had been reported, and they were all confined to Guinea. Five months later, on August 8, the WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Drawing on his experience of 25 previous outbreaks in the last 37 years, Professor Piot said, ‘It took about 1,000 Africans dying and two Americans being repatriated. … That’s basically the equation in the value of life and what triggers an international response.’

[Daily Mail] 

UN warns only 60 days to beat Ebola

The UN says the Ebola outbreak must be controlled within 60 days or else the world faces an “unprecedented” situation for which there is no plan. The United Nations made the stark warning as it warned that the disease “is running faster than us and it is winning the race”.

“The WHO advises within 60 days we must ensure 70% of infected people are in a care facility and 70% of burials are done without causing further infection,” said Anthony Banbury, the UN’s deputy Ebola coordinator.

But Mr Banbury told the UN Security Council the 70% target was becoming harder to meet as new infections stack up. He urged: “We either stop Ebola now or we face an entirely unprecedented situation for which we do not have a plan.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier said there could be 10,000 new cases of Ebola per week within two months. “It could be higher, it could be lower, but somewhere in that ball park.”

Some 95% of the cases are occurring in the same limited number of districts of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea which were affected a month ago, he said.

[Sky News]

Growing humanitarian crisis in Somalia

For decades, Somalia has been riven by factional fighting and the recent spread of religious fanaticism in the guise of Al-Shabaab has only added to the beleaguered country’s woes.

In 2012, new Somali national institutions emerged as the country ended a transitional phase toward setting up a permanent, democratically-elected Government.

In 2013 the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia was established by the UN Security Council. It is mandated to support the Federal Government of Somalia with its peace and state building agenda and to strengthen Somalia’s security sector, promote respect for human rights and women’s empowerment and assist in the coordination of international assistance.

“The humanitarian operation in Somalia requires urgent scale-up,” the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini,said in a press statement. “We are in a race against time to save lives in areas stricken by drought and conflict.”

The humanitarian coordinator noted that aid workers could reach affected areas despite the numerous challenges and persisting insecurity but urged the international community to drastically ramp up its financial assistance for the country.

“Despite competing crises in the world today, not responding to the humanitarian situation in Somalia is not an option,” Mr. Lazzarini continued. “Critical funding is needed today to expand operations. Funding pipelines for food security, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene services must be increased without delay.”

[UN News Centre]