WHO calls emergency sub-regional Ministerial meeting in Accra, Ghana to tackle the on-going Ebola virus in West Africa

In an effort to interrupt further spread of the Ebola virus in the shortest possible time, the World Health Organization is convening a special meeting of Ministers of Health of eleven (11) countries and partners involved in the Ebola outbreak response in Accra, Ghana from 2-3 July 2014 to discuss the best way of tackling the crisis collectively as well as develop a comprehensive inter country operational response plan.

WHAT:  Press conference and sub-regional ministerial meeting to address solutions for ending the Ebola virus outbreak that has been spreading in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since March 2014.    

WHEN: Press Conference will be held on Thursday, 3 July 2014, 1730-1830

In addition, two sessions of the meeting will be open to the media:  Wed, 2 July 2014, 0900-1000 and Thursday, 3 July, 1400-1700.  These sessions will focus on the situation, risk assessment, testimonials from Ebola survivors, a summary of technical discussions and a declaration of the operational plan.  

WHO:  Ministers of Health from: Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. Partners  involved in the outbreak, extractive industry from the affected countries, UN Agencies, CDC , DFID, EU, ECHO, Institute Pasteur, IFRC, MSF USAID, and WAHO

WHERE:  La Palm Golden Beach Hotel, Accra, Ghana

WHY:  The emergence of Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa threatens regional and global public health security.  The World Health Organization has so far provided technical assistance through the deployment of over 150 multidisciplinary team of experts involved in a range of outbreak response activities such as surveillance, communication and social mobilization, infection control, logistics, data management.

Despite this, there has been significant increase in the number of daily reported cases and deaths of Ebola as well as newly affected districts over the last three weeks.  As of 23 June 2014, the total cumulative number of cases reported was 635 out of which 399 died. This makes the on-going Ebola outbreak, the largest in terms of the number of cases and deaths as well as geographical spread.

Decisions taken at this meeting will be critical in addressing the current and future outbreaks.

Space is limited. For more information or to RSVP, please contact:

Donda Hansen, Tel : 00 472 413 9244  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Collins Boakye-Agyemang, Tel: 00 472 413 9420 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Related links

Special Ministerial Meeting on Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa, Accra, Ghana, 2 - 3 July 2014

Outbreak news: Ebola virus disease in West Africa

Fact sheet: Ebola virus disease