The U.N. envoy coordinating the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa said Tuesday that when national governments, partners, and communities work together, dramatic improvement‌ can be achieved, but cautioned against even for a second [thinking] that everything is okay.
Anthony Banbury spoke to reporters at Spriggs Payne Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, after meeting with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and visiting a logistics hub run by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).
Banbury said that a large part of the explanation for the improvement in some situations is when communities, supported by national and local governments with the backing of international partners are engaging together on Ebolaآ Treatment Units, safe burials, contact identification and tracing, and community mobilization as central elements of the strategy.
But the envoy cautioned that is going to be extremely difficult to getting it down to zero and emphasized the need to stay vigilant.
We just now need to stay vigilant not for a moment let our guard down. We cant even for a second think that everything is okay. As long as there is one case of Ebola in any country, it is a threat not only to that country, it is a threat to the region and to the world, Banbury said.