Ebola Update by Mr. Anthony Banbury and Dr. David Nabarro (1st December 2014)

United Nations, 01 December 2014 - Marking 60 days since the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), its chief said the set target on safe burials has been exceeded in the three worst-affected countries – Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – while the second target on isolating patients had been reached in Liberia and Guinea, but only in some parts of Sierra Leone.
The United Nations had set targets for December 1 of 70 per cent of burials being done safely and 70 per cent of new cases being placed in treatment facility in order to end the outbreak, which the World Health Organization says has infected more than 16,000 people in 8 countries and claimed nearly 7,000 lives.
Speaking to the journalists in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, Banbury said the "70/70 targets in 60 days were set so that we could turn this crisis around."
He added that "the global response" has achieved that in a "remarkable way."
Speaking at the same press conference David Nabarro, Senior UN System Coordinator for Ebola Virus Disease, said that what will end the outbreak is "enabling all people with Ebola to have the best possible chances for recovery from their illnesses and preventing them from infecting others."
Assessing the current situation, Dr. Nabarro said that the number of new cases "varies greatly" from day to day and from one district to another.
UNMEER also reported that president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali announced over the weekend that his country has no more confirmed cases of Ebola after the last patient known to be suffering from the virus was cured.

Global Ebola Response: