For
UN's Ebola
Mission,
Acting Chief
Tells ICP of
Air Transport,
Training,
Speed
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 18
-- At the
Ebola meeting
of the UN
Security
Council where
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
announced the
establishment
of a UN
Mission for
Ebola
Emergency
Response
(UNMEER),
many were
confused about
what the
mission will
do, who will
pay for
it, and how it
came about.
Inner
City Press
spoke with the
UN's Ebola
Operation
Crisis Manager
Tony
Banbury who
explained that
the new
mission moved
from idea on
Sunday,
September 14
to
announcement
four days
later. A
two-page
concept
paper was
prepared,
which Ban
Ki-moon
approved.
The
ideas range
from providing
training
through the
World Health
Organization
to all who
will go in to
help, to
mobilizing
transportation
for equipment.
The General
Assembly will
be asked for
funds, and
countries will
be asked what
they can
contribute.
Banbury
indicated
the speed with
which this is
moving is
unprecedented,
exactly what's
needed and
what the UN
should be
doing.
Inner
City Press
asked Banbury,
as it had at
the day's UN
noon briefing,
about Sierra
Leone's three
day shut-in to
try to stop
the spread of
ebola. Banbury
said it is not
really a
shut-in but an
attempt to
reach
out and
educate people
on what is
necessary to
not spread
Ebola.
Banbury
said
helicopters
will be needed
in Sierra
Leone and
Guinea but not
in
Liberia, to
which the US
is committing
3,000 troops.
He
specifically
praised Cuba
for sending
doctors. A
long time
official of
the UN's
Department of
Field Support,
he said moves
have begun to
transfer
unused and
underused UN
Peacekeeping
equipment from
other missions
over to West
Africa.
Upon
further
inquiry
elsewhere, it
was suggested
that it might
not be easy
to convince
Sudan to allow
“Western”
aircraft into
Darfur to pick
up under-used
vehicles for
transfer to
the Ebola
mission in
Western
Africa. But
that might be
a test, both
for Sudan and
for the UN.
We'll
have more on
this.
, 
