THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2014
FACT SHEET: Update on the Ebola Response
Since the diagnosis of the first Ebola patient in the United States, we have achieved
tremendous progress across all elements of the Administration’s whole-of-government
response. In an update provided to President Obama today, White House Ebola
Response Coordinator Ron Klain reported that America is far more prepared to cope
with Ebola domestically, and much farther along in our efforts to squelch the virus at
the source than we were just two months ago, thanks to the work of more than a dozen
federal agencies involved in the Ebola response.
Specifically, the progress we have achieved domestically in the past two months
includes:
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Expanded the network of hospitals prepared to deal with Ebola patients,
increasing our capacity from 8 hospital beds at just three facilities to 53 beds at 35
designated Treatment Centers nationwide;
Grown our Ebola testing capacity from 13 labs in 13 states as of August to 42 labs
in 36 states;
Required travelers from one of the four Ebola-affected countries to travel via one
of five U.S. airports, where an enhanced screening system has been deployed to
identify any potential Ebola cases;
Put in place national active monitoring guidance for public health officials to
maintain daily contact with passengers arriving from an affected country—with
even more rigorous monitoring and controls on travelers in higher risk groups;
Completed phase 1 clinical trials of the first vaccine to treat Ebola, clearing the
way for large-scale clinical trials in West Africa in the weeks ahead.
During a similar timeframe, we have also made marked strides in our overseas
response by:
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Scaling-up our deployment with thousands of additional civilian and military
personnel in West Africa;
Constructing and opening three Ebola Treatment Units (ETU) along with a
hospital in Liberia to care for healthcare workers who become ill, which
discharged its first two patients Ebola-free in late November;
Funding medical teams and non-clinical support operations and ensuring
essential PPE supply and in-kind commodity support for a total of 24 ETUs
across the region;
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Putting new teams and facilities in place to allow for the training of hundreds of
health care workers per week in Liberia;
Galvanizing international support for the response, which has resulted in more
than $2 billion in commitments since mid-September.
Virtually every initiative underway requires immediate, additional funding to be
continued or advanced. The President’s Emergency Funding Request of $6.2 billion,
now pending before Congress, would provide critical resources to build out our
domestic Ebola Treatment Centers and Assessment Hospitals; take the next steps on
Ebola vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics; fund our vital Ebola response in West
Africa; and strengthen Global Health Security to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to
the spread of Ebola in any other vulnerable countries and to combat similar infectious
disease threats.
The following Fact Sheets provide additional details on this comprehensive response
and the progress it has achieved in recent weeks.
Domestic Preparedness
Ensuring Hospital and Health System Readiness
We have prioritized domestic preparedness and hospital readiness since the diagnosis
of the first Ebola patient in Dallas so that additional cases can be diagnosed and treated
promptly, effectively, and safely. Whereas we previously had no formal guidelines in
place to judge a hospital’s preparedness vis-à-vis Ebola, we have since September
devised and implemented a series of tools to assess and improve facility readiness,
allowing us to have confidence in our nationwide ability to respond to additional cases
at home.
Ebola Treatment Centers. State and local public health officials, with technical
assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS), and in collaboration with hospital officials, have
identified substantially increased capacity to treat Ebola patients. Prior to October, there
were three facilities in the United States recognized for their biocontainment capability
for treating Ebola and other infectious diseases: Emory University Hospital, University
of Nebraska Medical Center, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical
Center. Today, HHS is announcing that, working with state officials, we now have a
network of 35 Ebola-ready Treatment Centers nationwide with 53 treatment beds
available. Additional facilities will be added in the next several weeks to further
broaden this geographic reach.
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Hospitals with Treatment Centers have been designated by state health officials,
based on a collaborative decision with local health authorities and the hospital
administration, to serve as treatment facilities for Ebola patients. Treatment
Centers are staffed, equipped, and have been assessed to have the
capability, training, and resources to provide the extensive treatment necessary
to care for an Ebola patient.
These Treatment Centers have been assessed by a CDC Rapid Ebola
Preparedness (REP) team, a concept created in October that brings together
experts in all aspects of Ebola care, including staff training, infection control, and
personal protective equipment (PPE) use. Since their inception, CDC REP teams
have visited 52 facilities in 15 states and the District of Columbia and continue to
work with other facilities on preparedness.
Because of this approach, more than 80 percent of travelers returning from West
Africa are now within 200 miles of a Treatment Center—and would be
transported via ambulance.
Assessment Hospitals. CDC and ASPR have also made progress working with
state and local public health officials in identifying Ebola Assessment Hospitals,
another concept launched within the past 60 days. Assessment Hospitals have
been and continue to be identified by state health officials as the point of referral
for individuals who have a travel history and symptoms compatible with Ebola.
These hospitals have the capability to evaluate and care for those individuals for
up to 96 hours, initiate or coordinate Ebola testing and testing for alternative
diagnoses, and either rule out Ebola or transfer the individual to an Ebola
Treatment Center, as needed.
While no states had such plans in September, today the states with the majority
of travelers from affected countries have developed strategies to evaluate
persons under investigation and to provide care for up to 96 hours while Ebola
testing can be arranged.
The following 35 hospitals now have Treatment Centers:
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Kaiser Oakland Medical Center; Oakland, California
Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center; Sacramento, California
University of California Davis Medical Center; Sacramento, California
University of California San Francisco Medical Center; San Francisco, California
Emory University Hospital; Atlanta, Georgia
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Chicago, Illinois
Northwestern Memorial Hospital; Chicago, Illinois
Rush University Medical Center; Chicago, Illinois
University of Chicago Medical Center; Chicago, Illinois
Johns Hopkins Hospital; Baltimore, Maryland
National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, Maryland
University of Maryland Medical Center; Baltimore, Maryland
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Unity Hospital; Fridley, Minnesota
Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota; St. Paul, Minnesota
University of Minnesota Medical Center, West Bank Campus; Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Mayo Clinic Hospital; Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nebraska Medicine; Omaha, Nebraska
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital; New Brunswick, New Jersey
North Shore LIJ/Glen Cove Hospital; Glen Cove, New York
HHC Bellevue Hospital Center; New York City, New York
Montefiore Health System; New York City, New York
New York-Presbyterian/Allen Hospital; New York City, New York
The Mount Sinai Hospital; New York City, New York
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Methodist Hospital System in collaboration with Parkland Hospital System and
the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Richardson, Texas
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Galveston, Texas
University of Virginia Medical Center; Charlottesville, Virginia
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center; Richmond, Virginia
Children’s National Medical Center; Washington, D.C.
George Washington University Hospital; Washington, D.C.
Medstar Washington Hospital Center; Washington, D.C.
University of Wisconsin Health; Madison, Wisconsin
Froedert and the Medical College of Wisconsin; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Outreach and Training. We have in the same period conducted extensive outreach to
the health care community, including hospitals, clinicians, healthcare unions, and
medical and nursing provider associations, focusing on training and keeping health
care workers safe and preparing frontline facilities to diagnose and isolate potential
Ebola patients. In recent weeks, HHS and CDC have hosted over 100 conference calls,
more than 30 webinars, and multiple live training events on infection control principles
and appropriate use of PPE.
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Specifically, HHS and CDC have educated more than 150,000 healthcare workers
via webinars and over 525,000 healthcare workers via online clinical training
resources. This includes regular calls with 10,000 nurses, 20,000 physicians and
dentists, and targeted outreach to emergency responders, laboratory workers,
waste management workers, hospital executives, and others involved at all levels
of the response.
In addition, more than 8,000 individuals have received instruction at live training
events on infection control and PPE, with an additional 20,000 trained via
livestream.
Additional Resources. In the past 70 days, CDC has also provided additional resources
and guidance to assist with hospital readiness.
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CDC has released an algorithm for health care facilities to evaluate returning
travelers for Ebola;
CDC has provided guidance for hospitals on the safe handling, transport and
disposal of waste generated from the care of persons diagnosed with or
suspected of having Ebola; and,
CDC has issued tightened guidance on infection control and PPE for U.S. health
care workers, to ensure there is no ambiguity.
Ensuring Adequate and Effective PPE. We have worked closely with state and local
authorities, as well as with domestic and global manufacturers, to ensure an effective
Ebola PPE supply chain. Following the release of the updated PPE guidance by CDC in
late October, ASPR and CDC began a dedicated effort to assemble PPE kits to deploy to
hospitals to supplement other supply mechanisms. As of late last month, CDC had
sufficient PPE to supply 50 days of Ebola patient care in its Strategic National Stockpile
(SNS).
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PPE kits or specific PPE items can be delivered from the SNS to any hospital in
the continental United States in less than 24 hours, and can be delivered in
significantly less than 24 hours to hospitals in large cities and population centers.
To support optimal hospital preparedness and PPE delivery times, HHS is
working with the Health Industry Distributors Association and PPE
manufacturers to prioritize and, as needed, redirect PPE supplies should any
designated Treatment Center be unable to obtain sufficient supplies from within
their hospital network, state and local supply chain.
CDC has partnered with Emory University and the University of Nebraska
Medical Center to develop a PPE assessment tool for use by CDC’s REP teams to
assist hospitals with estimating the volume of products needed to care for an
Ebola patient. The REP teams are now providing direct technical assistance to
hospitals, starting with those hospitals near points of entry and those in areas
with the largest proportions of returning travelers from the affected countries in
West Africa.
In collaboration with CDC, OSHA has developed and released a PPE selection
matrix to help employers select appropriate PPE for workers who may be
exposed to Ebola in the course of their work duties. This matrix will provide
guidance to employers to both make sure that employees are safe and that
regulatory guidelines are followed.
Through its Ebola Grand Challenge for Development, which was launched in
October, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working
closely with the Department of Defense (DOD), CDC, and the White House to
rally innovators, scientists, and experts to generate pioneering solutions to
improve PPE. USAID is moving rapidly to select and test the best ideas from
more than 1,200 submissions with the goal of fielding improved PPE in 2015.
Enhancing Domestic Ebola Testing Laboratories
Just as we have expanded the network of hospitals capable of responding to an Ebola
patient, CDC’s Laboratory Response Network (LRN) has grown the network of
laboratories able to test a potential Ebola specimen. In order to qualify as an LRN Ebola
testing lab, the facility must have the appropriate and functioning biosafety level 3
laboratory, the necessary test reagents, and needed PPE to perform the assay safely. A
testing lab demonstrates competency by successful completion of a quality
assurance panel. Upon completion and evaluation of the panel, the laboratory is
considered approved to test for Ebola using the DOD assay.
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Prior to the recent outbreak in West Africa, Ebola could only be confirmed at the
CDC laboratory in Atlanta. In August 2014, 13 LRN laboratories in 13 states were
qualified to test for Ebola. As of December 1, 42 LRN laboratories in 36 states are
approved to test for Ebola using a DOD test authorized by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). This has dramatically decreased turnaround time for
Ebola results domestically.
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Typically, from receipt of a specimen in the lab, a result is available in 4-6
hours. When compared to the first Ebola specimen domestically tested at Mt.
Sinai in August, which took close to 24 hours to complete, this represents a
significant decrease in turn-around time. This significant decrease in turnaround
time allows clinicians to make patient-care decisions in a shorter timeframe and
protects the American public from unnecessary exposures.
Since the authorization of the first test for the detection of Ebola in August, there
are now a total of six diagnostic tests, which have been authorized for use by
FDA, including two commercial tests which are available for general hospital
laboratories. One of these has a turnaround time of less than one hour after
receipt of a specimen in the laboratory.
Strengthening Prevention and Detection Measures
Just as we have enhanced our domestic capacity to diagnose and treat Ebola patients
effectively and safely, we also have made strides in establishing additional protocols to
minimize the risk of imported Ebola cases. The approach we have developed is
multilayered and involves overlapping safeguards to mitigate risk.
Passenger Departure and Transit Screening. We have worked with our international
partners to increase capacity to identify travelers who may be experiencing symptoms
of Ebola or diseases, prevent them from traveling, and refer them for appropriate care
as necessary.
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Since August, CDC personnel have worked with officials of Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone to establish robust exit screening procedures. Based on this
screening, travelers with fever or other symptoms that may be suggestive of
Ebola are denied boarding and referred to appropriate medical care. A similar
program was put in place by French doctors working in Mali, starting in
November.
In October, we coordinated with foreign governments to institute temperature
checks and questionnaires to identify possible symptoms of or exposure to Ebola
for passengers in transit. As a result, all travelers transiting through Belgium,
Canada, France, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and the UK en route to the
United States from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are subject to such
screening. France, the transit point for the vast majority of travelers from Mali to
the United States, started to implement the same screening regimen for travelers
from Mali in November.
Arrival Screening and Monitoring for Early Detection. Pursuant to our layered
screening approach, health officials now actively monitor recently-arrived travelers for
21 days since exposure, so that public health officials can rapidly identify a potential
case, respond with the medical support the patient needs, and prevent transmission to
others in the community.
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The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) officers observe all passengers as they arrive in the United States for overt
signs of illness, and question travelers, as appropriate, at all U.S. ports of entry.
Since early October, CBP personnel have conducted enhanced screening of all
passengers arriving in the United States from the Ebola affected countries of
Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to detect signs of illness or potential exposure
to Ebola. Specifically, CBP and CDC began administering questionnaires,
temperature checks, and additional health evaluation as necessary, to travelers
arriving from the Ebola affected countries; in mid-November Mali was added to
this screening regime.
Since late October, air travelers arriving from these countries are required to
arrive to one of five U.S. airports where DHS and CDC conduct joint and
enhanced screening.
Since late October, CBP has collected screened travelers’ contact information,
which CDC has since passed to state public health departments at their final
destination in the United States.
Since CDC released guidance on October 27th, State public health officials have
actively monitored travelers from West Africa for Ebola symptoms for 21 days
after the last possible exposure. Under this protocol, passengers identified by
screening whose trips began in one of the West African nations are questioned
by public health officials daily to check whether they have experienced fever or
other possible symptoms of Ebola, and required to report twice daily
temperature checks.
Through active monitoring, dozens of people have reported fever or other
symptoms to public health officials, who were then able to safely transport and
isolate the individual for evaluation.
Since late October, individuals deemed to be at elevated risk, including returned
health care workers, have been subject to “direct active monitoring.” Under this
protocol—in addition to twice daily temperature checks—individuals have direct
interaction with a public health official daily so that the public health authorities
can generate a holistic picture of the individual’s health and take early action
should any worrisome indications emerge.
Reducing the Risk of Ebola’s Maritime Spread. While there have been no cases of
Ebola in the maritime sector, the U.S. Government, in coordination with state
governments and industry, has developed comprehensive procedures for tracking,
screening, prevention, and response to the spread of Ebola via ships calling on the
United States.
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In October, the Coast Guard developed targeted questions, aligned with CDC
guidance and with those currently being utilized at airports and other points of
entry, for any vessel that is known to have had a port call in Guinea, Liberia, or
Sierra Leone within 21 days before arrival. Additionally, DHS began sharing
tracking information with international partners in November to increase
capacity to identify vessels that have visited the Ebola-affected region.
The Administration released comprehensive guidelines on four separate
occasions between September and November that provide specific Ebola
preparedness, awareness, and isolation guidance or reporting sick passengers.
DHS instituted daily coordination with state and local marine exchanges and
port authorities to track and screen arrivals at U.S. ports from Ebola-affected
countries.
Developing Countermeasures to Prevent and Treat Ebola
Over the longer-term, vaccines and therapeutics will be a key tool in our arsenal, and
we have significantly ramped up development and clinical trials of vaccine and drug
candidates. While no therapeutics or vaccines have yet been certified to be safe and
effective for treating or preventing Ebola, HHS, led by efforts at NIH, has made
progress in recent weeks and is expediting the human clinical trials of several Ebola
vaccine and therapeutic candidates.
Ebola Vaccine Development. We are supporting the development of five Ebola vaccine
candidates in various stages of development. Two vaccine candidates—cAd3 and
rVSV—have been in Phase 1 human clinical trials; three others are still a few months
away from the start of trials.
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We achieved a major milestone on November 26th when the initial National
Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Phase 1 clinical trial for the cAd3 Ebola vaccine
candidate, which was developed by the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and GlaxoSmithKline, was completed successfully,
with results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results
indicate that the vaccine candidate is safe and induces an immune response.
Additional clinical trials of the vaccine are underway or imminent in Atlanta,
Baltimore, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Mali, among other sites.
Phase 1 clinical trials of a second vaccine, rVSV, are underway at the Walter Reed
Army Institute of Research and at NIH, with results expected in
December. Additional Phase 1 studies are underway or planned to begin in the
near future at clinical research centers in Switzerland, Germany, Kenya, and
Gabon in a WHO-coordinated effort, and in Canada. Merck and NewLink
Genetics Corporation are collaborating to research, develop, manufacture, and
distribute this investigational rVSV vaccine candidate.
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West African governments are collaborating with the NIH and CDC to plan large
Phase 2/3 studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates in the
community and in health workers in West Africa. These trials are anticipated to
begin in the near future.
NIH, DOD, and HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
(BARDA) are supporting production of tens of thousands of doses of these vaccines on
a pilot scale for planned trials. BARDA with FDA assistance is supporting the rapid
scale-up and optimization of vaccine manufacturing for these vaccine candidates to
ensure that the capacity exists to produce millions of vaccine doses in a timely way if
mass vaccination campaigns are able to occur in 2015 in Africa.
In addition to these vaccine candidates, there are three other candidates supported
during early stage development by NIH and DOD that are a few months away from the
start of Phase 1 clinical trials.
Ebola Therapeutics Development. Additionally, the U.S. Government is supporting
the development of several investigational candidate therapeutics to treat patients
infected with the disease. Some have already been employed in patients in the United
States and Africa.
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ZMapp: Under contract with DOD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
and BARDA, ZMapp’s antibodies are produced in specially grown tobacco
plants and have only been produced in limited quantities. BARDA is sponsoring
the manufacturing of ZMapp for Phase 1-2 clinical studies. ZMapp has shown
evidence of antiviral activity in animal models of infection. Clinical studies are
expected to start in early 2015 at NIAID. Other clinical studies are slated to begin
in affected African countries in early 2015. This therapeutic candidate has been
used under an emergency investigational new drug (eIND) application in Ebolainfected patients in the United States, Africa, and elsewhere. Mapp
Biopharmaceutical produces ZMapp.
TKM-Ebola: TKM-Ebola has undergone testing in nonhuman primates and
showed a significant benefit in terms of survival. This therapeutic candidate has
been used under an eIND in some Ebola-infected patients in the United States.
Plans for studying this drug in clinical trials are under discussion. TKM-Ebola is
produced by the Canadian company Tekmira Inc. under a contract from DTRA.
BCX4430: BCX4430 is a small molecule drug with recent NIH support that, in
preliminary investigations, has been reported to have some antiviral activity
against a range of viruses, including Ebola. NIH and the U.S. Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases are collaborating to evaluate activity in
nonhuman primate models of Ebola virus disease as well as human clinical
safety trials. Potential for clinical trials has been under discussion depending on
assessment of animal study results.
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Brincidofovir (CMX001): Brincidofovir, originally supported by BARDA as a
potential smallpox drug, was reported in one study to show possible inhibition
of Ebola virus replication in infected cells. This therapeutic candidate has been
used under an eIND in some Ebola-infected patients in the United States.
Potential for clinical trials has been under discussion depending on assessment of
animal study results. The drug is under development by Chimerix.
Favipiravir (T-705): Favipiravir has been in clinical trials for treatment of
influenza but also been reported to show some activity against other viruses,
including in Ebola-infected cells. This therapeutic candidate was developed by
Toyama and is licensed to Fujifilm and Medivector with support from
DTRA. Potential for clinical trials has been under discussion, and it has
reportedly been used in some Ebola-infected patients in Europe.
A Scaled-Up International Response
Recognizing that the only way to eradicate the threat of Ebola in America is to defeat it
on the frontlines, we have significantly ramped up efforts to fight the virus in West
Africa since the President announced an international scale-up at the CDC in midSeptember. Our international response is civilian-led with leadership from USAID and
CDC and important roles from HHS, the State Department, and other agencies, totaling
more than 200 civilian responders on the ground. Complementing this civilian cadre is
the U.S. military, which since mid-September has brought to bear its unique capabilities
and scale; nearly 3,000 service members are now in West Africa, augmenting what was
a small force of several hundred less than three months ago. The Department in October
reprogrammed $750 million in funding for this deployment and the broader response.
In Liberia, the country with the highest number of Ebola-related deaths, we have
achieved progress against a range of activities in recent weeks working together with
the Government of Liberia and partners on the ground.
Isolation and Treatment Facilities. In the past month alone, the U.S. military has
completed three ETUs in Liberia, and several more are slated to come online in
December. The U.S. military will construct a total of 10 ETUs and USAID-funded
partners built an additional four; all are slated to be complete within the next several
weeks. The United States is funding medical teams and non-clinical support operations
and ensuring essential PPE supply and in-kind commodity support at a total of 20
ETUs. As a result of this support, a total of 24 ETUs providing isolation and care
facilities throughout Liberia are expected to be operational by the end of January.
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In large part due to the U.S. government’s efforts, the number of ETU beds in
Liberia has nearly doubled since September. As of December, there are
approximately 800 beds available to Ebola patients in facilities built or supported
by the United States, and we expect nearly 2,000 to be online by January 1.
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To complement the ETUs, we have also worked with the Government of Liberia
and NGO partners since September on a comprehensive Community Care
Strategy that brings effective care to hotspots inaccessible to treatment facilities
and areas prone to flare-ups. Under this strategy, the United States has
established six of the 21 needed Community Care Centers located in 15 priority
hotspots, and the establishment of rapid response mechanisms to build countylevel case management capacity to respond to outbreaks in remote areas that are
inaccessible to treatment facilities.
Additionally, we are supporting rapid Ebola laboratory testing through six
laboratories, which have helped reduce time required for testing samples from
several days to hours. Personnel from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center
operate three of these mobile medical labs, the number of which has more than
doubled in the past month and will continue to rise.
Recruiting and Training Health Care Workers. As we have brought additional
infrastructure online in recent weeks, we also have sought to ensure sufficient
personnel are available to staff these facilities and provide the highest quality care to
patients. We are supporting training for health care workers and foreign medical teams
in the United States and in Liberia. Prior to their deployment, more than 200 health care
workers have been trained in the United States. As of November, we have the capacity
to train 200 health care workers per week in Monrovia alone.
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Through the U.S. military, moreover, we have established mobile teams to train
up to 100 health care workers per week outside of Monrovia. We had no such
capacity prior to last month, and the U.S. military since last month has trained
hundreds of such health care workers.
New Hospital for Infected Health Care Workers. To encourage experienced health
care workers from around the globe to join in this effort and help ensure they can get
the care they need should they become ill, we now have in place an advanced Ebola
treatment facility in Monrovia, which the U.S. military constructed. More than 70
members of HHS’ U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are now treating
health care workers in this facility, the Monrovia Medical Unit (MMU), which opened
its doors in early November. The MMU last month achieved a milestone by releasing its
first two patients, both of whom are now Ebola-free.
Establishing Effective Incident Management. We have provided technical support to
establish a fully functioning national Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Incident
Management System in Liberia, which came online in October. We are now working to
support county-level EOCs throughout Liberia.
Increasing Safe Burial. Since September, we have met our target of supporting 65
active safe burial teams across all 15 counties in Liberia—greater than 90 percent of
responses to dead body alerts occur within 24 hours. In early September, only 12 U.S.supported burial teams were operational.
Supporting Infection Control. We are facilitating large-scale infection control in
Liberia, including procuring and airlifting 130,000 PPE sets to Liberia and trainings for
health care workers in infection control outside established Ebola facilities.
Increasing Outreach and Social Mobilization. Through our partners, more than 1.5
million Liberians receive daily radio Ebola messages, and nearly 100,000 households
have been directly reached by mobilization teams to date. This comprehensive social
mobilization coverage has resulted in significant behavior change that has played a
large role in bending the curve.
A Regional and Global Approach to Mimic Our Success. The decline in infection rates
in Liberia witnessed in recent weeks confirms that we have the right strategy in place.
With these signs of progress, however, we must not relent in executing this strategy. We
know that small outbreaks can quickly flare up and wipe away months of progress. We
are committed to expanding the pace, ingenuity, and scale of our response in Liberia,
and across the region, to stem this deadly epidemic and to meet the longer-term
recovery and prevention needs in West Africa. As such, we have supported the same
approaches in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Mali. The Senegal-based Intermediate Staging
Base, which DOD established in September, has helped to facilitate an approach that
reaches beyond Liberia.
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In Sierra Leone and Guinea, we are supporting EOC and Incident Management
Systems; four ETUs, including two in Sierra Leone and two in Guinea; social
mobilization; support to a combined six NGO partners to carry out community
outreach activities in Sierra Leone and Guinea; contact tracing; safe burials,
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including 50 teams across all 14 districts of Sierra Leone; and infection
prevention. In Sierra Leone, where the outbreak has intensified, we now have
more than 60 U.S. Government personnel deployed. In Mali, meanwhile, we
surged personnel and resources there and began applying the same response
lens, adapted to the current scale of the outbreak.
In order to prevent the further spread of Ebola, we are assisting the 13 most at
risk countries in West Africa to strengthen their capacity. To date, the United
States has hosted three preparedness workshops for regional stakeholders and
has sent rapid response teams to the region to provide hands-on assistance to
governments in neighboring countries. CDC is also sending staff to each of these
countries to provide technical guidance and leadership to preparedness
activities, including contact tracing, specimen transport to laboratories and early
alert and rapid response systems.
More broadly, we also have strengthened capacity in countries across Africa,
Asia, and the Middle East that are not equipped to handle Ebola or other deadly
biological threats. In late September, the White House brought together ministers
and other senior officials from 43 of these countries. We are now working with
these partners to implement over 100 new, concrete commitments, including
standing up emergency operations capacity, strengthening laboratory safety, and
improving rapid disease detection and surveillance to end outbreaks before they
become epidemics.
Leading and Expanding an International Coalition
The United States has led the international effort to confront Ebola, but, as the President
has said, we cannot take on this challenge alone. U.S. leadership has successfully
galvanized others to take part. Since mid-September, when President Obama called on
the world to act, other nations, private sector stakeholders, international organizations,
and multilateral development banks have come together to pledge more than $2 billion
to end the epidemic at its source in West Africa. Other senior U.S. officials—including
the National Security Advisor, Secretary of State, Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and the Ebola Response Coordinator, among others—have since continued to
dialogue with their counterparts to enhance and optimize the international response.
Fifteen countries have committed more than $800 million in financial and in-kind
assistance following engagement by senior Administration officials.
Among the contributions announced since mid-September:
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The European Union, including the European Commission and member states,
has collectively committed more than $1.2 billion in financial assistance, $171
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million in development and early recovery assistance, and other valuable in-kind
assistance, such as health care workers and medical evacuation support.
African nations have joined together to commit to contribute 2,000 health care
workers through the African Union to the affected countries in West Africa,
while African business leaders have pledged $28.5 million in financial assistance.
The United Kingdom has committed a $359 million package of direct support to
help contain, control, treat and ultimately defeat Ebola in West Africa. This
includes a commitment to deliver 700 treatment beds in the coming months to
Sierra Leone, helping up to nearly 8,800 patients over a six month period, and
supporting the roll out of 200 community care centers.
Germany has committed more than a $126 million to the Ebola response effort,
and pledged to recruit and train several hundred volunteers. Additionally,
Germany has established of an airlift capability from Dakar to Monrovia,
Conakry and Freetown, and committed to providing equipment and operational
support to a 100-bed World Health Organization (WHO) ETU in Monrovia.
France pledged $124 million to the Ebola response, including $14 million to
construct an ETU in Guinea.
Japan announced $100 million in assistance on top of about $45 million in
assistance previously committed. This aid will help rebuild the health system of
the affected countries, in addition to support the treatment of patients currently
infected with Ebola. Additionally, the Japanese have announced that they are
prepared to send up to 700,000 sets of PPE to Liberia and Sierra Leone.
China has announced more than $130 million in assistance, including
construction and staffing of a 100-bed Ebola treatment unit in Liberia, $6 million
for the UN Ebola Multi-Partner Trust Fund, and another $6 million for the World
Food Programme.
Canada has committed $20.5 million to support further research and
development of Ebola medical countermeasures, namely Canada’s Ebola vaccine
and monoclonal antibody treatments. Additionally, Canada is contributing $18.3
million to aid organizations, two mobile labs that provide rapid diagnostic
support to help local healthcare workers to quickly diagnose Ebola, and $2.2
million worth of personal protective equipment.
The African Development Bank contributed more than $220 million towards
strengthening West Africa’s public health systems.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank
announced a $34 million package to support health programs in the countries
affected by Ebola, including $6 million for fighting the disease.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $130 million in emergency
financial assistance to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to help respond to the
Ebola outbreak. Additionally, the IMF plans to make available a further $300
million to stem the Ebola outbreak and ease pressures on Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone, through a combination of concessional loans, debt relief, and
grants.
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The World Bank Group is mobilizing nearly $1 billion in financing for the
countries hardest hit by the crisis, including more than $500 million for the
emergency response and to help speed up the deployment of foreign health care
workers to the countries, and at least $450 million to enable trade, investment
and employment in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.