by Xinhua writers Guo Jun, Ding Xiaoxi
NAIROBI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The overall response to Ebola continues to fall dangerously behind and too many lives are being lost, said a worried Charles Gaurdy, head of mission for Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Kenya.
"We need more countries to stand up, we need greater concrete action on the ground, and we need it now," continued Gaurdy, telling Xinhua in a recent interview.
It seems the international community has suddenly fully woken up to the threat of Ebola in September, six months since outbreak of the deadly epidemic was initially announced in Guinea.
The month of September witnessed successive announcements pledging assistance or expanding assistance from the international community.
Gaurdy said the latest pledges from a handful of countries and international organizations are welcome and need to be put into action immediately.
"If implemented swiftly, the deployment of new Ebola management centers, qualified staff and health personnel training could begin reversing the trend of the fight we have collectively been losing against Ebola," he said, urging other countries to follow the lead of countries who have committed to join the fight against Ebola, with concrete action on the ground.
"We are in uncharted waters, meaning we do not know how the situation will evolve in the coming week. As such, it is impossible to predict if the current pledges are enough," Gaurdy said, adding MSF continues to call for more field hospitals, more staff and more coordination to bring Ebola under control.
He warned if other UN member states now feel the recent pledges are enough, they are mistaken. "The situation is catastrophic with thousands dying."
The epidemic has swept across West Africa and killed 2,630 people up to September 14, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The total number of reported cases was in excess of 5,300, and the WHO admits the figures are underestimates, warning that there could be as many as 20,000 cases in the region before the outbreak is brought under control.
According to Gaurdy, there is a combination of factors related to the nature of the epidemic, the behavior of people, and the fact that the current global response is entirely inadequate.
Big challenges to control Ebola include a highly mobile population, a lack of knowledge about this disease in these areas, a situation in which people are hiding their or their family members' illness out of fear, and a situation in which people do not trust health facilities.
"Many infections and deaths are still occurring because people are participating in funerals without the necessary protection measures taken," said Gaurdy.
In terms of the response, there are still critical gaps in all aspects; medical care, contact tracing, epidemiological surveillance, data sharing, effective alert and referral systems, safe burials and community education and mobilization.
"This is the first time ever that Ebola has spread into densely populated capital cities, adding to the challenges of controlling the outbreak," said Gaurdy.
Despite the fact that quite a few organizations are working to raise awareness about the disease, Gaurdy said they have not yet managed to reduce public anxiety around Ebola.
He said what they have seen in this outbreak is that when people come early to be treated, they have a better chance of surviving; in MSF centers there have a 25-75 percent survival rate.
"This is a message we are trying to get out there so that people understand that while Ebola is a serious, deadly disease, we do have people walking out of our treatment centers completely recovered and going back to their communities," he said.
Gaurdy said it is only by instilling trust among the population that the chain of virus transmission can be controlled, adding this should be done in a systematic way throughout the countries, using language that does not stir up panic but that informs people of the correct measures and actions to take.
"It is crucial that community education and mobilization efforts are intensified and that everyone on the ground; civil society, political and religious authorities, and international organizations; work to build the trust of the communities we are trying to help," he said.
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