U.S. Commits More Resources to Help West Africa Fight Ebola

Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Obama, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Thomas Frieden and National Security Advisor Susan Rice brief reporters September 16 at CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

Washington — The “daunting task” of containing Ebola can be accomplished, President Obama says. "We know that if we take the proper steps, we can save lives. But we have to act fast.”

Speaking at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta September 16, Obama said that responding to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the humanitarian crisis it has engendered is a top U.S. priority.

To contain and combat the epidemic, the United States is working with the United Nations and other international partners to help Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

The U.S. strategy aims to accomplish four goals:

• Control the epidemic at its source in West Africa.

• Mitigate related economic, social and political effects in the region.

• Engage the world community in a coordinated response.

• Fortify global health security infrastructure in the region and beyond.

The United States is supporting a whole-of-government response to the epidemic, Obama said, noting the nation has committed more than $175 million to date to combat the current Ebola outbreak.

New resources announced by the president September 16 include the following:

• A Joint Force Command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to provide regional command-and-control support to U.S. military activities and coordinate U.S. government and international relief efforts.

• Deployment of 65 U.S. Public Health Service commissioned officers to Liberia to manage and staff a previously announced Defense Department hospital to care for health care workers who become ill.

• A community care campaign supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will provide communities and households with protection kits, appropriate information and training on how to protect themselves and their loved ones.

The United States already has sent more than 100 specialists from multiple U.S. departments and agencies, including the departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services; the CDC; and USAID.

Since March, the United States has spent more than $100 million to address Ebola, including the purchase of personal protective equipment, mobile labs and relief commodities, and support for community health workers.

USAID also has announced plans to make available up to $75 million in additional funding to increase the number of Ebola treatment units, provide more personal protective equipment, airlift additional medical and emergency supplies, and support other Ebola response activities in collaboration with the United Nations, including the World Health Organization, and international partners.

The United States is “prepared to take leadership on this to provide the kinds of capabilities that only America has,” the president said, “and to mobilize the world in ways that only America can do.”

Obama said he has requested that Congress authorize an additional $30 million to send more response workers from CDC, as well as lab supplies and equipment. His administration also is seeking an additional $58 million to support the development and manufacturing of Ebola therapeutic and vaccine candidates through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

In August, USAID deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to West Africa to coordinate and prioritize the U.S. government’s response to the outbreak. The DART — comprising staff from USAID, CDC, Defense and the U.S. Forest Service — coordinates key areas of the response, such as planning, operations and logistics. It will be airlifting 130,000 sets of personal protective equipment to ensure health workers can safely do their jobs and is procuring generators to power Ebola treatment units and other response facilities.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently started clinical trials of an investigational Ebola vaccine and continues to support development of additional Ebola antivirals and therapeutics.

USAID and the State Department are providing up to $10 million to support the deployment of an African Union mission sending more than 100 health care workers to the region. State has encouraged other governments to increase aid, coordinate delivery of critical resources and encourage airlines operating in the region to maintain or reinstate service while ensuring appropriate precautions.

The department also is supporting public education efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea on preventing and treating Ebola. In early September President Obama released a message to the people of West Africa to reinforce the facts and dispel myths surrounding Ebola.

The United States is continuing to work with nations around the world to support the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA), launched in February. This five-year effort aims to speed up response to public health emergencies by establishing measurable global health security capacity.

The United States has committed to working with at least 30 partner countries to invest in model systems to advance the agenda, he said. Specifically, CDC and Defense will work with other U.S. agencies and partner countries to establish emergency operations centers, build information systems and strengthen laboratory security to mitigate biological threats and build partner capacity.