Israel

Israel Joins Ebola Fight

Sunday, September 21, 2014 9:13 pm | < 1 Minute Read

Health workers wearing protective suits conduct an ebola prevention drill at the port in Monrovia. The World Health Organization said that the number of Ebola cases was increasing rapidly and could exceed 20,000 before the virus is brought under control, after the death toll topped 1,500. (DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

An Israeli humanitarian aid organization announced its decision to send a delegation to join the international community in combatting Ebola in Western Africa, say media reports.

IsraAID, the Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid, announced its participation in the global effort to stem the spread of the highly contagious disease which has already claimed over 1,500 lives.

The announcement came a day after Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Ron Prosor, called Ebola a “global crisis” that “requires a global response” at a special Security Council meeting.

“Israel stands ready to join an international task force to combat the Ebola outbreak,” he said Thursday. “In the meantime, we have sent emergency funding to Sierra Leone and medical supplies to Ethiopia. We have also coordinated with the World Health Organization and sent experts in public health and infectious diseases to Cameroon. They have trained dozens of doctors, nurses and other medical staff from six different hospitals on how to prevent and contain the disease. Israeli NGOs are now preparing to send another team to Sierra Leone.”

This article appeared in print on page 8 of the September 22nd, 2014 edition of Hamodia.