UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed David Nabarro of the UK as his Special Envoy for Ebola, and Anthony Banbury as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
After close consultations made with Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, these appointments took place.
These appointments also followed the unanimous adoption of General Assembly resolution 69/1, as well as the adoption of Security Council resolution 2177 on the Ebola outbreak.
In his vital role as Special Envoy for Ebola, Nabarro is expected to provide strategic and policy direction for a greatly enhanced international response and will galvanize essential support for affected communities and countries.
Under Banbury's leadership, UNMEER, the new Mission, will provide the operational framework and unity of purpose to ensure the rapid, effective and coherent action necessary to stop the Ebola outbreak, to treat the infected, to ensure essential services, to preserve stability and to prevent the spread to countries currently unaffected.
Nabarro and Banbury are expected to work closely in support of the governments in the region, and other partners, in pursuit of these critical objectives.