WHO emergency declaration on Ebola virus for West Africa
WHO statement following the meeting of the Emergency Rules Committee of the International Health Regulations on the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director General in accordance with the International Health Regulations (2005) [RSI (2005)] concerning the 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa was teleconference on Wednesday August 6, 2014 from 1 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. and Thursday, August 7, 2014 from 1 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. Geneva time (CET).
Members and advisers of the Emergency Committee held meetings by teleconference during the two days of the meeting. The following participating States in the IHR (2005) took part in the information part of the meeting on Wednesday August 6, 2014: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
During the briefing, the WHO Secretariat provided the latest data and estimates for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The aforementioned participating States reported on recent developments in their countries, including measures to implement rapid response strategies and gaps and difficulties in coping with an outbreak.
After discussions and discussions on the information provided, the Committee indicated that:
The Committee unanimously agreed that the current conditions met the criteria for a public health emergency of international importance (ChSMZZ).
The current BWE epidemic started in Guinea in December 2013. Currently, transmission is taking place in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. As of August 4, 2014, countries have reported 1,711 cases of the disease (1,070 confirmed, 436 possible, 205 alleged), including 932 deaths. Today, this is the largest epidemic of EVD recorded. In response to this outbreak, some unaffected countries have issued a number of travel advices or recommendations.
In light of the information provided by States parties and the discussions that followed at a meeting of the Committee, a number of problems were noted in the affected countries:
The Committee made the following recommendations to the Director-General regarding the Ebola outbreak, in accordance with the IHR (2005).
The Committee stressed the importance of continued support for the effective implementation and follow-up of these recommendations by WHO and other national and international partners.
Based on these recommendations, the reports of the States parties concerned and the information available to date, the Director-General accepted the Committee's assessment and, on 8 August 2014, declared the Ebola epidemic in Africa. 'West an international public health emergency (CEHLM). The Director General approved the recommendations of the Committee and published them as interim recommendations, in accordance with the IHR (2005), to reduce the international spread of Ebola with entry into force on August 8, 2014. The Director General thanked the members and the committee advisers for their recommendations and asked them to reassess this situation after three months.