‘The Netherlands must bring knowledge and expertise to the fight against Ebola’
‘The Netherlands must bring knowledge and expertise to the fight against Ebola’
The Netherlands must contribute far more in the struggle against Ebola. This was the reaction of SP Member of Parliament Henk van Gerven to news of the ever-increasing numbers of victims. The outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has already taken the lives of more than 4,500 people and the end is nowhere in sight. Aid came far too late and took too long to get going.
That the outbreak could get so out of control shows that the health care systems in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are not capable of nipping an illness in the bud by means of coordinated action. ‘The Netherlands must fight Ebola with more than just financial support,’ says Van Gerven. ‘We must also offer our knowledge and expertise to combat this terrible virus.’
At yesterday’s conference of doctors and aid organisations at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, it emerged that international coordination of aid delivery is falling well short of what is needed. Van Gerven is urging Development Minister Lilianne Ploumen to pull out all the stops to contribute to a solution, sending doctors and nurses as quickly as possible. Attention should also be given to the question of the repatriation of aid workers.