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UN / EBOLA RESPONSE EFFORTS
STORY: EBOLA RESPONSE EFFORTS
TRT: 2:49
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /FRENCH /NATS
DATELINE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
23 SEPTEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
1. Exterior shot, UN Headquarters
25 SEPTEMBER 2019, NEW YORK CITY
2. Pan left, ministers arriving at the stakeout
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, United States:
“We got many nations represented here today because diseases like Ebola know no boundaries. But with cooperation like we had here today and when we focus organizations like the WHO and the UN on these infectious threats, we can have real success in containing diseases and saving lives. Together we can stop this Ebola outbreak, work with the DRC to strengthen their health system and build a stronger foundation for preventing such outbreaks in the future.”
4. Cutaway, ministers at the stakeout
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Alex Azar, Health and Human Services Secretary, United States:
“The unique circumstances of the eastern DRC with civil unrest and such close proximity to international borders have made it the most complex Ebola outbreak in history. This outbreak cannot be stopped without close and committed cooperation among all stakeholders.”
6. Cutaway, ministers at the stakeout
7. SOUNDBITE (French) Oly Ilunga Kalenga, Health Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo:
“We will, within our possibilities, strengthen the [health] system, not only in the affected zone, but everywhere, simply because we are under the impression that this epidemic is migratory. It started in the Equateur, spread to Bandundu and now it is in the east of the country and we don’t know where it hit next. So, we take this epidemic very serious and we will reinforce the system in order to be able to fight and prevent future epidemics.”
8. Cutaway, ministers at the stakeout
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization:
“While fighting Ebola in the DRC, we have to strengthen our preparedness in the neighboring countries, because the risk of the spread is still high and we have agreed to invest in preparedness in the neighboring countries, not only to prepare for this Ebola but for the future too, in order to prevent similar outbreaks. And in the DRC, we will follow a similar approach - while fighting Ebola, we will strengthen the health system.”
10. Cutaway, ministers at the stakeout
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization:
“The virus is on the retreat. But I said it is not over unless it is over because there is insecurity in the area; dozens of armed groups are operating and also there is political instability in that area. So, any attack can actually influence the gains we have already made.”
12. Zoom out, ministers leave
Briefing reporters after a ministerial-level meeting on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the US Health Secretary Alex Azar said “this outbreak cannot be stopped without close and committed cooperation among all stakeholders.”
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is grappling with the world’s second largest Ebola epidemic on record, with more than 2000 lives lost and 3000 confirmed infections since the outbreak was declared on 1 August 2018, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The meeting, held behind closed doors on the sidelines of the UN General Debate in New York on Wednesday (25 Sep), was called by the United States aiming to boost a regional preparedness for eventual spread of the Ebola outside of the DRC borders.
“We got many nations represented here today because diseases like Ebola know no boundaries,” said Health Secretary Azar. “Together we can stop this Ebola outbreak, work with the DRC to strengthen their health system and build a stronger foundation for preventing such outbreaks in the future,” he added.
Azar also said “the unique circumstances of the eastern DRC with civil unrest and such close proximity to international borders have made it the most complex Ebola outbreak in history. This outbreak cannot be stopped without close and committed cooperation among all stakeholders.”
The newly appointed DRC’s Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga said his country is planning to “strengthen the [health] system, not only in the affected zone, but everywhere, simply because we are under the impression that this epidemic is migratory. It started in the Equateur, spread to Bandundu and now it is in the east of the country and we don’t know where it hit next. So, we take this epidemic very seriously and we will reinforce the system in order to be able to fight and prevent future epidemics.”
Head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “while fighting Ebola in the DRC, we have to strengthen our preparedness in the neighboring countries, because the risk of the spread is still high and we have agreed to invest in preparedness in the neighboring countries, not only to prepare for this Ebola but for the future too, in order to prevent similar outbreaks.”
As for the efforts to fight the outbreak in the DRC, Tedros expressed a cautious optimism.
“The virus is on the retreat,” he said “But I said it is not over unless it is over because there is insecurity in the area; dozens of armed groups are operating and also there is political instability in that area. So, any attack can actually influence the gains we have already made,” Tedros added.
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