US urges IMF to cancel debt of Ebola-stricken countries

WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday proposed that the International Monetary Fund write off some $100 million in debt it is owed by Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to free up more resources for those countries, the hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak.

The debt relief should enable the three impoverished West African countries to spend more on government services and to support their economies as they cope with the devastating epidemic, U.S. Treasury officials told Reuters.

The countries now owe the IMF a combined $372 million, of which $55 million comes due over the next two years, officials said on condition of anonymity.

"The International Monetary Fund has already played a critical role as a first responder, providing economic support to countries hardest hit by Ebola," US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement issued to Reuters. "Today we are asking the IMF to expand that support by providing debt relief for Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea."

The US proposal must still be approved by the IMF's other 187 member countries. Lew will recommend the move to the Group of 20 leading economies at their meeting in Brisbane, Australia this week.

The United States proposed that the money for the $100 million in IMF debt relief should come from a special trust fund set up for poor countries coping with catastrophic natural disasters, which now contains about $150 million of the IMF's own resources.

The so-called Post-Catastrophe Debt Relief Trust was first used for Haiti in the aftermath of its 2010 earthquake.

In September, the IMF approved $130 million in aid to the three countries to help them deal with the economic impact from the Ebola virus, which has sapped their growth, cut into tax revenues and affected exports and other industries.

The IMF estimated last month that the three countries faced financing gaps of about $300 million this year and could also face large financing needs in 2015 as their economic situation deteriorates.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are among West Africa's poorest countries and the hardest hit by the worst Ebola epidemic since the disease was identified in 1976. The virus has killed at least 4,950 people out of about 13,240 cases this year, according to the World Health Organization.  — Reuters

New commander takes over US Ebola mission in West Africa

WASHINGTON — A new commander on Saturday took over the US military mission to combat Ebola in West Africa, the Pentagon said.

In Monrovia, Major General Gary Volesky of the US Army 101st Division took command of troops that are part of Washington's effort to counter the deadly outbreak, a Defense Department statement said.

West Africa is the epicenter of the outbreak that has killed nearly 5,000 people.

"Just 38 days ago, Major General Darryl Williams arrived in Liberia to form an advance detachment in his capacity as commanding general, US Army Africa prior to the formal establishment of this Joint Forces Command," the statement said.

"In this short period, our service members, under his leadership, have made great advances in establishing command and control capabilities for this effort including lines of communication over very rough terrain."

The mission has helped expand lab work, and a 25-bed hospital is due to be operational in early November according to the statement.

"In addition, construction of the first Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) at Tubmanburg is nearing completion," it said, adding that two more were to follow.

Meanwhile in Senegal an intermediate staging base and transport hub is being set up in Dakar, and the contracted vessel M/V Vega arrived in the area this week with around 700 containers of support equipment.

Some 700 US service members are now deployed to West Africa, including nearly 600 in Liberia and 100 in Senegal. In coming weeks, that could grow to more than 3,900. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Obama open to appointing Ebola ‘czar,’ opposes travel ban

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he was considering appointing an Ebola "czar" to coordinate the fight against the virus in the United States but he remained opposed to a ban on travel from West Africa.

Obama's administration is under growing criticism from lawmakers over its efforts to contain the disease at home. Obama authorized calling up military reservists for the US fight against Ebola in West Africa on Thursday.

US concerns have intensified after two Texas nurses who cared for Liberian patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died, contracted the virus.

"It may be appropriate for me to appoint an additional person" to oversee efforts to contain Ebola, Obama told reporters after meeting aides involved in the fight against the disease.

Lawmakers have called for a czar and a ban on travel from West Africa. Obama said experts tell him that "a flat-out travel ban is not the way to go" because current screening measures at airports are working.

He said he had no philosophical objection to a travel ban but that some travelers might attempt to enter the United States by avoiding screening measures, which could lead to more Ebola cases, not less, Obama said.

Many House of Representatives members have joined calls for a ban on travel from the hardest-hit West African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Michael Huerta told reporters separately that the government was assessing whether to issue a travel ban "on a day-to-day basis." — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

WHO asks for more health workers to fight Ebola as death toll grows

LONDON/GENEVA - The number of new Ebola cases in West Africa is growing faster than authorities can manage them, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday, renewing a call for health workers from around the world to go to the region to help.

As the death toll rose to more than 2,400 people out of 4,784 cases, WHO director general Margaret Chan said the vast nature of the outbreak – particularly in the three hardest-hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – required a massive emergency response.

"The Ebola outbreak that is ravaging parts of West Africa is the largest and most complex and most severe in the almost four-decade history of this disease," she told reporters on an international teleconference from Geneva.

"The number of new patients is moving far faster than the capacity to manage them. We need to surge at least three to four times to catch up with the outbreaks."

Chan called for urgent international support in sending doctors, nurses, medical supplies and aid to the worst-affected countries.

"The thing we need most is people," she said. "The right people, the right specialists, and specialists who are appropriately trained and know how to keep themselves safe."

The Ebola infection rate and death toll have been particularly high among health workers, who are exposed to hundreds of highly infectious patients who can pass the virus on through body fluids such as blood and excrement.

Some foreign healthcare workers, including several Americans and at least one Briton, have also become infected while working with patients in West Africa.

Speaking at the same briefing, Cuba's minister for public health, Roberto Morales Ojeda, said his country would be sending 165 healthcare workers to help in the fight - the largest contingent of foreign doctors and nurses to be committed so far.

Chan welcomed Cuba's move and urged others to follow suit.

"If we are going to go to war with Ebola, we need the resources to fight," she said. "We still need about 500 to 600 doctors coming from abroad and at least 1,000 or more health care workers."

She said the three worst affected countries were also running low on "almost everything" - including personal protective equipment, basic medical supplies and body bags.

"Today there is not one single bed available for the treatment of an Ebola patient in the entire country of Liberia," she said.

Although the latest figures show more than 2,400 people have died of Ebola virus infection in West Africa since the epidemic started in March, Chan said even the most up-to-date tolls were likely to lag far behind the reality on the ground.

"Whatever number of cases and deaths we are reporting is an underestimate," she said.

The U.N. health agency had previously warned there could be as many as 20,000 cases in the region before the outbreak is brought under control.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that economic growth in Liberia and Sierra Leone could decline by as much as 3.5 percentage points due to the outbreak, which it said has crippled their mining, agriculture and services sectors. — Reuters