U.N. SG Ban Announces Plans To Deploy Emergency Medical Mission To Ebola-Hit West Africa

News outlets report on a U.N. plan to deploy an emergency health mission to West Africa in response to the Ebola outbreak.

Reuters: United Nations to deploy Ebola mission in worst-affected states
“…U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he will appoint a special envoy to head the U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), which will push a ‘rapid and massive mobilization’ of people, material, and financial resources…” (Nichols, 9/18).

TIME: U.N. Launches ‘Unprecedented’ Mission to Combat Ebola
“…The goal of the mission, called U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, is to stop the outbreak, treat the infected, ensure essential services are available, preserve stability, and prevent further outbreaks. Ban said he plans to have a team on the ground by the end of the month…” (Sifferlin, 9/18).

U.N. News Centre: U.N. announces mission to combat Ebola, declares outbreak ‘threat to peace and security’
“…The Secretary-General said the mission’s effectiveness will depend crucially on support from the international community…” (9/18).

USA TODAY: U.N. announces medical corps to fight Ebola
“…The world has been racing against an outbreak growing at an exponential rate, but always falling behind. To get ahead of the epidemic, the world will have to scale up its response by about 20-fold, Ban said. That will require about $1 billion…” (Szabo, 9/18).

VOA News: U.N. to Establish Health Mission to Contain Ebola
“…Ban made the announcement during an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that portrayed the growing crisis as the biggest peacetime challenge the U.N. has ever faced. … Ban said the crisis has become multi-dimensional, with significant political, social, economic, humanitarian, and security dimensions…” (Besheer, 9/18).

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