Africa's panicky Ebola response dangerous – ECOWAS Chair

ECOWAS Chair, John Mahama, says Africa’s “ad hoc” responses to the rankling Ebola disease – which is spawning in the sub-region – portends disastrous consequences for the entire Continent.

The Ghana's President says the measures instituted to fend off the haemorrhagic fever from entering neighbouring countries from the four affected countries – Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria – are “panicky” – a situation he fears could “rather exacerbate the problem,” in the region.

“A lot of the responses are ad hoc and so even though we have the WHO guidelines” in tackling the virus, “countries are doing other things...cancelling air travels, closing borders and so on…we should maintain a level head and not panic…” Mahama advised when the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michell Sidibe, paid a courtesy call on him at the Flagstaff House.

He said, for example, Doctors from other parts of the Continent who may want to volunteer assistance to affected countries cannot do so because flights have been banned to those areas as part of the preventive measures.

He has, therefore, scheduled a two-day sub-regional meeting on August 26 and 27, under the auspices of the West African Health Organisation, to discuss sustainable and practical ways of tackling the disease.

The meeting will seek to engineer and coordinate efforts in the sub-region towards fighting the virus, that has killed more than 1,400 people so far.

Ebola kills within 21 days. It is spread through direct contact with infected people as well as apes, fruit-eating bats and antelopes. There is no cure for it. But the WHO has cleared an experimental drug, zMapp, for use on Ebola patients. Two American Doctors, who got infected while in Liberia, have recovered after the serum was given to them weeks ago.