Ebola: How Many Must Die Before WHO Acts? asks AHF
December 14 2018 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
WHO and Merck must do more to ensure vaccines
are available and that healthcare workers are protected throughout
the Congo, where the second worst Ebola outbreak in history has
killed almost 300 people and has reached a major population
center.
With the world’s second worst Ebola outbreak in history recently
spreading to a major city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
the World Health Organization (WHO) and Merck must do more to
ensure all options are on the table to fight the virus, including
ensuring vaccines are available to all who need them.
Although there have been marked improvements compared to the
2014 outbreak response in West Africa, a more ambitious effort is
needed now in the Congo. The WHO has yet to declare the crisis an
international emergency, even though it meets its own criteria for
what constitutes one. Additionally, Merck Pharmaceuticals only has
300,000 doses of its proven Ebola vaccine on hand—far too little
than what is needed now that the virus has reached Butembo, a
sprawling urban area home to over 1 million people.
WHO’s own Deputy Director-General for Emergency Preparedness and
Response Dr. Peter Salama voiced his concerns over insufficient
quantities of the vaccine just last week. AHF urges the WHO to
expedite the approval process for Merck’s vaccine and the other
vaccine options that have a proven to be effective against Ebola.
The costs for these delays are being paid for with valuable
lives—lives that can be saved with a more ambitious effort.
Merck should also be stockpiling and preparing to expedite
enough vaccines should the virus break ring-vaccination
containment, which would require vastly more doses than what are
currently being used. If cost is an obstacle, Merck should use
funds it has allocated for humanitarian relief.
Equally important is the safety and security of the healthcare
workers operating throughout the country. Armed groups are
systematically disrupting efforts to vaccinate and educate the
populace, often with fatal consequences. The WHO and UN must
protect the men and women working to reach and vaccinate people in
remote areas, including by deploying troops, if necessary.
“Now is not the time to waver in our response to Ebola, as we
have seen the devastation it can cause,” said Dr. Penninah
Iutung, Africa Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
“AHF urges the World Health Organization to immediately declare
this outbreak an international emergency and bolster vaccine
options before it is too late. AHF also implores Merck to make sure
enough vaccines are ready for immediate use. There is too much at
stake and no worthwhile reason to wait.”
For more information, please contact AHF Senior Director of
Communication Ged Kenslea at gedk@aidshealth.org or (323)
791-5526.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS
organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to
over one million people in 43 countries worldwide in the US,
Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and
Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website:
www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter:
@aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181214005054/en/
WASHINGTONJohn Hassell, National Director of Advocacy,
AHF+1.202.774.4854 [cell] John.hassell@aidshealth.org
LOS ANGELESDenys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy &
Communication AHF+1.323.533.9842 mobile
denys.nazarov@aidshealth.orgGed Kenslea, Senior Director,
Communications, AHF+1.323.791.5526 [cell] +.323.308.1833 [work]
gedk@aidshealth.org