Ebola: 1332 Nigerian Soldiers Quarantined In Liberia

Simon Ateba

At least 1332 Nigerian soldiers on peace keeping mission in Liberia have been quarantined in the wake of the Ebola disease ravaging the country.

Reports quoted the Director of Nigerian Army Medical Corps, Major-General Obashina Ogunbiyi, as disclosing this information in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Thursday.

Ogunbiyi was also quoted as saying that Nigeria was still at risk of the viral disease as any of the soldiers could return to the country at any time, adding that the quarantined soldiers are part of the reason “why the military had to be totally involved in the fight against the Ebola virus.”

The World Health Organization said Nigeria would be officially cleared on 20 October of having contained the disease.

Meanwhile, the United States Government will work with 12 African countries and train 500 healthcare support providers per week to stop the spread of the disease  in West Africa, senior officials said on Wednesday.

The three American officials, who spoke during a conference call with journalists  across Africa, said the United States has declared total war on the dreaded disease.

They called on more countries watching from the sidelines to join the fight and support Africa as the disease spreads and kills more people.

Nancy Lindborg, USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance; Donald Lu, Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response in the U.S. Department of State; and Lt. General Steven Hummer, U.S. Africa Command Deputy to the Commander for Military Operations  said the U.S. is supporting Ebola Treatment Units, burial teams, and is working very closely to support the contact tracing that each of the governments are doing in Sierra Leone and Guinea.

“We are also working very closely with the United Kingdom, and France, and the E.U. as they step up their efforts. We are sharing operational plans and strategies to ensure that we have a joined up and coherent effort.

“I would also add that a very important part of our strategy is working with twelve countries throughout the region with Ebola-preparedness workshops in both French and English speaking countries so that those countries can be better prepared in the event of a traveller arriving in their country who is infected with Ebola,” Lindborg said.

That effort, she added, “is underway right now, and in fact, there are workshops happening throughout the region over these next few weeks.”

Lindborg said a special focus with extra efforts is in Liberia because the country is currently carrying the greatest disease burden and has the highest infection rates.

However, she acknowledged that Ebola is a regional concern and the U.S. has teams in all three of the most affected countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.   

General Steven Hummer disclosed that the American government is establishing a regional intermediate staging base to help expedite the transportation of equipment, supplies, and personnel in Dakar, Senegal.

“We will also establish a training site which will be able to train up to 500 healthcare support providers per week, enabling healthcare workers to safely provide direct medical care to patients,” he said.

Donald Lu said the international community has not done enough and needs to move quicker.   

“In the case of the Ebola epidemic, we have seen great leadership in the past weeks by the United Nations. The U.N. Secretary General has established the U.N. Mission for Emergency Ebola Response, with a regional command centre in Accra, Ghana, and led by special representatives on the ground in all three of the affected countries.

“But what does that coalition look like today? It is thirty-five countries, including the United States, who have pledged upwards of $690 million, and millions more in material and personnel support. Similarly, the World Bank has committed $400 million, the IMF has advanced $130 million in zero percent loans, the African Development Bank has pledged $150 million. Add to that significant pledges by private sector donors, including the Gates Foundation and the Paul Allen Foundation,” Lu said.

However, he added, all of these efforts are dwarfed by the enormous need on the ground.

“So I will close by just saying that we have seen real progress in the last few weeks in terms of the international response on Ebola, but with these enormous needs, more has to be done.”