GENEVA | 16 September 2014 - WHO welcomes the commitment from the Government of the People’s Republic of China to dispatch a mobile laboratory team to Sierra Leone to enhance the laboratory testing capacity for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the country.
Delivered by Dr Anders Nordström, WHO Representative in Sierra Leone.
Today, 7 November 2015, the World Health Organization declares the end of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
Since Sierra Leone recorded the first Ebola case on 24 May 2014, a total number of 8,704 people were infected and 3,589 have died. From those who tragically lost their lives, 221 of them were healthcare workers. We remember them all today.
Many people remember the West African outbreak of Ebola, which started at the end of 2013 and was declared over in the middle of 2016. This unprecedented outbreak led to more than 11,000 people losing their lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. That outbreak also inflicted US$2.8 billion in economic damages. The governments of these countries and the international community, as well as the UN and WHO, were unable to contain this outbreak rapidly.
"Now a physician myself, I know that daily sickness and pain is also a reality for a billion people around the world who are affected by neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)."
The current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is believed to have begun in Guinea in December 2013. This outbreak now involves community transmission in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and recently an ill traveller from Liberia infected a small number of people in Nigeria with whom he had direct contact.
On 8 August 2014, WHO declared the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in accordance with the International Health…
The 6th meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa took place by teleconference on Thursday, 2 July 2015, and by electronic correspondence from 2-6 July 2015.
As in previous meetings, the Committee’s role was to advise the WHO Director-General as to:
WHO welcomes Chinese contribution of mobile laboratory and health experts for Ebola response in West Africa
Statement on the end of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone
New Ebola outbreak is being tackled by a stronger WHO in the African region
Eliminating neglected tropical diseases: A new initiative to finish what we started
Statement on travel and transport in relation to Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak
Statement on the 6th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa