EU Diplomats To Discuss Ebola

Liberia's president has made an impassioned plea for the international community to do more to combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa. The call comes ahead of a meeting of European foreign ministers to discuss Ebola.

European foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss the EU's response to the Ebola virus and assess strategies to counter its spread in West Africa.



"There is a very strong political focus on this as the most immediate crisis facing us," news agency AFP "ed a European diplomat as saying.



Another EU diplomat said Britain, which is currently sending a navy ship carrying medical staff and supplies to Sierra Leone, hoped to "galvanize EU action on Ebola."



"There is a real sense that this is a tipping point and we must get to grips with it now," the diplomat said. "If we can deal with it in the country, we don't have to deal with it at home."



The 28-member bloc has contributed nearly half a billion euros to support West African governments grappling with the impact of the virus, but it is under pressure to free up more funds, as well as send more help in the form of medical supplies and trained health workers.



A global UN appeal for nearly $1 billion (785 billion euros) to fight the epidemic has so far fallen short. The UN said Saturday it had received $385.9 million from governments and agencies and had been promised more donations.



"It has been encouraging to see the amount and the speed with which these amounts have been committed," spokesman for the UN's humanitarian office Jens Laerke said.



Sirleaf calls for action



Meanwhile, Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (pictured) on Sunday urged world leaders to step up efforts to stop the spread of Ebola, warning the outbreak threatened to unleash an economic catastrophe that would leave a "lost generation" of young West Africans.



In an open letter to the BBC, Sirleaf said the international community's reaction to the epidemic which emerged earlier this year had initially been "inconsistent and lacking in clear direction or urgency."



"The time for talking or theorizing is over. Only concerted action will save my country, and our neighbours, from experiencing another national tragedy," the Nobel Laureate said, adding that the outbreak had reversed much of the progress achieved after Liberia's 14-year civil war, which ended in 2003.



"This fight requires a commitment from every nation that has the capacity to help - whether that is with emergency funds, medical supplies or clinical expertise," she said.



The Ebola tropical virus has killed more than 4,500 people in mainly Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Eight people have also died in Nigeria and there have been isolated cases in the United States and Spain. Liberia has been worst-hit, with over 4,000 cases of infection and close to 2,500 deaths.



nm/jm (AFP, Reuters)