Ebola: Ban commends Nigeria’s efforts, doggedness

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Wednesday commended President Goodluck Jonathan for Nigeria’s efforts at containing the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country.

Ban gave the commendation at a meeting he held with Jonathan on the sideline of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The two leaders also discussed the security situation in the North-East of Nigeria and its impact on the sub-region.

He made enquiries about the fate of the chibok schoolgirls abducted in April, and reiterated his condemnation on the attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram.

The two leaders discussed preparations for the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.

NAN reports that the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, confirmed that Nigeria was completely free of the EVD.

The WHO says more than 2,400 men, women and children are known to have died from the outbreak, and nearly 5,000 other people have been infected with the disease.

In a report also realeased by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.4 million people could be infected with Ebola by the end of January if action was not taken to stop the spread of the deadly virus in West Africa.

In a report released on Tuesday, the centre said the astonishing figure was the result of the CDC taking into account the under-reporting of Ebola cases.

According to the most recent numbers, the CDC also expects about 21,000 cases of the disease will have occurred in Liberia and Sierra Leone by Sept. 30.

Cases double about every 20 days in Liberia and every 40 days in Sierra Leone.