Oxfam: $1.9Bn In Ebola Aid Not Delivered By Donors

by PH February 1, 2016, 8:25 am

Cynthia GoldsmithThis colorized transmission electron micrograph (TEM) revealed some of the ultrastructural morphology displayed by an Ebola virus virion. See PHIL 1832 for a black and white version of this image.Where is Ebola virus found in nature?

The exact origin, locations, and natural habitat (known as the "natural reservoir") of Ebola virus remain unknown. However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) and is normally maintained in an animal host that is native to the African continent. A similar host is probably associated with Ebola-Reston which was isolated from infected cynomolgous monkeys that were imported to the United States and Italy from the Philippines. The virus is not known to be native to other continents, such as North America.

International donors have failed to deliver $1.9bn in promised funds to help West African countries recover from the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11 000 people and decimated already weak health care systems, the UK-based charity Oxfam said on Sunday.

The remaining $3.9bn pledged has been difficult to track because of “scant information” and a lack of transparency, the group said.

“We’re finding it hard to understand which donors have given what money, to whom and for what purpose,” said Aboubacry Tall, Oxfam’s regional director for West Africa.

Oxfam called on donors and the governments of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea – the three hardest-hit countries – to provide detailed information on how aid is being provided.

More than $5bn was pledged by the international community as part of a special International Ebola Recovery Conference in New York last July. At least $1.9bn of that “still has not been allocated to a specific country in a pledge statement let alone through more firm commitments to specific recovery programmes”.

Originating in Guinea more than two years ago, the Ebola outbreak left about 23 000 children without at least one of their parents or caregivers, while about 17 000 survivors are trying to resume their lives despite battling mysterious, lingering side effects.

The international community already has been criticised for how it handled the crisis. An Associated Press investigation found the World Health Organisation delayed declaring an international emergency for political and economic reasons.

E-mails, documents and interviews obtained by the AP show the World Health Organisation and other responders failed to organise a strong response. None of the senior leaders involved in directing the Ebola response has been disciplined or fired.

Meanwhile, the disease has not been stamped out entirely. Though the WHO declared an end to virus transmission throughout the region on January 14, the next day officials in Sierra Leone reported a new fatality and a second person has since tested positive.

The WHO said it had anticipated there would still be flare-ups before Ebola was truly over. However, Oxfam said the slow response to recent flare-ups in both Sierra Leone and Liberia show they are still not able to deal effectively with new cases.