The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
With 18 Ebola cases reported, 14 confirmed, and four deaths to date, the West African nation of Guinea is becoming the focus of an urgent public health response involving national health authorities, local communities, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners. An Ebola vaccine has been deployed for the first time in the country, with more than 1,600 people vaccinated so far.
“We are using the ring vaccination,” said Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall, the Assistant Director-General of WHO responsible for emergency response, referring to the strategy that inhibits the spread of a disease by vaccinating only those most likely to be infected. “We are vaccinating the contacts of cases, the contact of contacts, and their contacts. With this strategy we are able to control this type of outbreak. But we are going to need more vaccines.” Dr. Fall told journalist in Geneva on Friday.
Some 30,000 Ebola vaccines are currently available to Guinea, out of a global stock of half a million.
“If the outbreak spreads to other countries, we have limited stocks” said the Director of Strategic Health Operations at WHO, Dr. Michel Yao, speaking by videoconference from the town of Nzérékoré in Guinea, one of the epicentres of the outbreak, which is near the border with Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.
The last Ebola outbreak in Guinea, which started in 2014, quickly spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. By the time it was finally brought under control, it had become the deadliest Ebola outbreak since the virus was first detected in 1976, with some 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.
“There are six neighboring countries to Guinea, and we conducted a self-assessment of readiness,” said Gueye Abdou Salam, Regional Emergency Director of WHO’s regional office for Africa, speaking by videoconference from Brazzaville. “Two of the countries are not ready, and one country is on the borderline and there are three countries that are more or less ready.”
Having faced previous Ebola outbreaks gives health authorities a considerable advantage this time around, experts agree. “It is important to learn the lessons from these outbreaks,” said Dr. Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo, the WHO Representative in Guinea, referring to the need to get buy-in from local communities in all the areas where vaccination campaigns are planned.
“Where we launch the vaccination campaign in Gouecke, a few kilometers from there is the village of Wome. This is where a team of officials and responders were trapped and actually killed in the last outbreak in 2015. So, we need to take that into account when we engage with communities to make sure that we listen to them,” Dr. Ki-Zerbo said.
There is broad consensus among health officials the acting quickly is a crucial factor in controlling the spread of Ebola, but that preventive measures and better preparedness are also needed to protect people from a broader range of pathogens.
Dr. Fall took the view that the world will increasingly face a greater number of health epidemics, especially as human habitats encroach on forest areas.
“We are increasingly in a situation in which we have to face multiple epidemics,” Dr. Fall said, speaking to reporters in French. “Countries must be enabled to respond to multiple epidemics, but especially through preventive measures.”
One challenge, Dr. Fall said, is that the strong focus on the COVID-19 pandemic is making it more difficult to focus global attention on the tools needed to respond to any other emerging pathogens.
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations entrance, a sunny day.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General, Emergency Response, WHO (World Health Organization): “We are using the ring vaccination, meaning that we are vaccinating the contacts of cases, the contact of contacts, and their contacts. So with this strategy we are able to, you know in an appropriate manner, to control this type of outbreak. But in the future, we need more vaccines.”
- Exterior wide shot, UN flag flying, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Michel Yao, Director, Strategic Health Operations, WHO (World Health Organization): “If the outbreak spreads to other countries, we have limited stocks.”
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley and entrance.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Gueye Abdou Salam, Regional Emergency Director), WHO/ AFRO: “ There are six neighboring countries to Guinea and we conducted a self-assessment of fitness. Two of the countries are not ready and one country is on the borderline and there are three countries that are more or less ready.”
- Exterior wide shot, UN building and the Celestial Sphere, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Georges Alfred Ki-Zerbo, WHO Representative in Guinea: “Where we launch the vaccination campaign in Gouecke, a few kilometers from there is the village of Wome. This is where a team of officials and responders were trapped and actually killed in the last outbreak in 2015. So, we need to take that into account when we engage with communities to make sure that we listen to them.”
- Exterior wide shot, Broken Chair sculpture, Place des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Dr Michel Yao, Director, Strategic Health Operations, WHO (World Health Organization): “We cannot win this battle without the community.”
- Exterior medium shot, Un building and flag, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (French) — Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General, Emergency Response, WHO (World Health Organization): “Nous sommes de plus en plus dans une situation où nous avons à faire face à de multiples épidémies.” (« We are increasingly in a situation in which we have to face multiple epidemics »)
- Exterior wide shot, Un building and flag, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (French) — Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General, Emergency Response, WHO (World Health Organization): “Il faut que les pays soit en mesure de répondre à de multiples épidémies, mais surtout de façon préventive.” (« Countries must be enabled to respond to multiple epidemics, but especially through preventive measures »)
- Exterior wide shot
- Exterior wide shot, UN flag and flag alley, Palais des Nations.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said today he was extremely concerned about the recent escalation in hostilities in northwest Syria, which further compounds the suffering endured by millions of civilians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , OCHA
Syria escalation: Civilians face deadly attacks, health care in distress and aid access compromised
The ongoing escalation of violence in northwest Syria linked to the wider conflict in Gaza and Lebanon has left civilians dead and injured, hospitals “overwhelmed” and attacks on healthcare on the rise, the UN warned on Tuesday.
2
1
4
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a glaring disregard for long-established international humanitarian law are set to leave a staggering 305 million people in need of lifesaving assistance next year, the UN’s top aid official warned on Wednesday.
Embargo Wednesday, 4 December 2024 at 0600 CET / 0000 ET
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Rights Office on Friday warned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine after further attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITU
An international panel has been set up to protect undersea communications cables that are crucial for international trade and security, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said on Friday. The creation of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience comes amid an ongoing investigation into the severing of two fibre optic cables in the Baltic Sea, in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | ITU
An estimated 5.5 billion people have access to the internet in 2024, an increase of 227 million people based on revised estimates for 2023, the UN specialized agency for telecommunications, ITU, said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Launch of World AIDS Day Report 2024—Take The Rights Path
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A joint report issued this morning by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paints a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk says.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, amid reports that the senior Israeli cabinet members were due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza