Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2014
426. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on the way Ireland is contributing to international efforts to combat ebola; if the amount of resources directed towards this will be prioritised and increased in view of the significant threat level. [35856/14]
View answerThe Ebola outbreak, officially confirmed in Guinea in March 2014, has since spread rapidly to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The World Health Organisation is currently estimating the total number of probable and confirmed cases in the region at more than 5,600, with a fatality rate of over 50%. Ireland is supporting the efforts of the EU, UN and international community to provide a strong and effective response to the crisis, which is focused both on stopping the spread of the virus and treating those affected. Ireland was one of the co-sponsors of a UN Security Council resolution on Ebola adopted on 18 September, which led to the establishment of a new UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
The two countries most seriously affected by the Ebola crisis, Liberia and Sierra Leone, are partner countries of Ireland for our development aid programme. We have already provided funding of €350,000 direct to NGO organisations working on the Ebola response there, particularly those that are involved in a very important programme of community sensitisation aimed specifically at halting the spread of the Ebola virus. Yesterday I announced additional funding of €660,000 for UNICEF, to provide life-saving nutritional supplies to children who have been affected by the crisis. One in five of those infected are children and, given the disproportionate impact of the virus on women and the high mortality rates, many children are also losing their mothers to the disease.
My Department is also working through the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Accra, Ghana to mobilise pre-positioned Irish humanitarian supplies worth €350,000 with a view to early distribution to those most affected, including survivors and vulnerable children. A member of Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps is also being deployed to Dakar, Senegal, to work with the World Food Programme in setting up an air transit centre for use by the UN Humanitarian Air Service.
This funding and support is in addition to our ongoing development programmes in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The 2014 programme budgets for the two countries amount to just under €10 million, a considerable proportion of which will need to be re-directed to fighting the spread of the virus and establishing further treatment facilities. Irish Aid also annually funds development work in the two countries by our NGO partners - amounting last year to in excess of €6 million.
We are continuing to monitor the situation closely, in particular through our Embassy in Freetown which is actively engaged and working with the governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia, the UN, EU and our NGO partners, in responding to the outbreak.
