Urge Swift Global Action on Ebola Following UN Meeting; Warn Materials and Personnel Must Get to Ground Quickly
ONE CEO Michael Elliott, Global Policy Director Eloise Todd, and actor Idris Elba deliver ONE’s petition to the UN Special Envoy for Ebola Dr. David Nabarro.
The Ebola infections and death toll continue to rise. The urgency for international action was very apparent at Thursday’s United Nations High Level Meeting on Ebola at the United Nations in New York. And ONE was there with a message from our members demanding swifter action on Ebola crisis.
ONE’s CEO Michael Elliott, Global Policy Director Eloise Todd, and actor Idris Elba attended the high level meeting with the petition signed by more than 100,000 members and counting, urging UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to provide leadership for the international community to make serious commitments to focus first on ending the outbreak, then act to strengthen developing country health systems so that future disease outbreaks can be stemmed before they become a human catastrophe.
Idris Elba, whose father was born in Sierra Leone, one of the countries most impacted by the current crisis, has spent much of the last two weeks meeting with UN officials and NGO groups doing work on the ground to learn more about what’s needed to bring the outbreak under control.
Elba said, “Over the past few weeks it felt to me as though the Ebola crisis had dropped down the world’s agenda, but following the High Level UN meeting today I feel as though the world is rallying together to help the countries that are affected. We need to make sure that these words translate to action on the ground so that we can get aid to the people who need it and end the spread of this virus.”
ONE’s Michael Elliott praised commitments from the meeting, but warned that funding should not come at the expense of continuing funding for other health programs, “The Ebola outbreak must be staunched, but it is important that world leaders not rob from Peter to pay Paul. It is absurd to suggest that the world is unable to tackle more than one health challenge at a time.”
Eloise Todd said timing is crucial and that aid development cannot wait: “Ebola continues to worsen in the two worst affected countries Liberia and Sierra Leone. With dramatic warnings sounded by Obama, (World Bank President) Jim Yong Kim and others, it really is time to act now – not only to stop the disease but also to protect the gains that have been made in these countries over the last years.”
Thank you to all the ONE members who signed our Ebola petition. European countries have scheduled pledging meetings in London on October 2 and later in the month for the Euroepan Union. ONE will track commitments from these meetings carefully and will keep you updated on events and announcements.
