More assistance in combating Ebola

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the worst epidemic since the discovery of the virus in the year 1976. The African states that have been hit by the epidemic have neither the infrastructure nor sufficient medical personnel to overcome the crisis without assistance. State structures in these countries are at risk of collapsing. The epidemic threatens not only security and stability in West Africa but is now taking on a global dimension. WHO and the Security Council now deem the situation to be much more dramatic than only a few weeks ago.

We are all called upon to provide speedy and effective assistance. In the light of this turn of events, the Federal Government has been supporting the fight against Ebola over the past many months. This support includes direct payments to WHO and help for aid organisations such as the German Red Cross and 'Doctors without Borders' in their tireless efforts on the ground in the affected States. Moreover, for over six months now, medical experts from the Robert Koch Institute and the Bernhard Nocht Institute have been providing assistance in the crisis-hit region. In the light of the dramatic turn that the situation has taken in West Africa, further concrete measures were agreed on 19th September 2014.

Support on the ground

More than anything, the affected states need medical personnel and possibilities for treating patients.

Additional medical volunteers are urgently needed to set up and run the treatment wards. In a joint appeal, the Federal Minister of Health Hermann Gröhe, the President the German Red Cross (DRK), Dr. Rudolf Seiters and the President of the German Medical Association, Prof. Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, urged medical personnel to assist in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

The necessary framework conditions will be created to ensure the personal safety of those who meet this commitment in the field. In addition, helpers on the ground can rely on being repatriated to Germany and receiving the appropriate expert medical treatment in Germany in the event of an emergency.

Voluntary medical personnel can apply immediately using the German Red Cross's online-application system for aid missions.

Controlling the spread of the disease

Efforts to prevent the further spread of the pathogen to other states are just as important as furnishing assistance within the states that have already been hit by the epidemic. This is why the Federal Government is also investing in research into therapies and vaccines. At the same time, we are supporting the training of local medical personnel on the ground and in the neighbouring countries because it will only be possible to bring the disease under control if we work together with the local response teams in the field.

Consequently, the intention is for teams of experts from Germany to train doctors and nursing personnel in the affected states. This will enable local medical personnel to recognise patients infected with Ebola and furnish them with proper care while observing proper precautions. The first team of experts is currently preparing for its mission and will begin work in October.

No acute danger in Germany

Owing to Germany's excellent health care system, there is no need for concern on the part of its citizens. Following are some of the factors that guarantee citizens' safety at home:

• Germany has nine highly specialised treatment centres for infected patients at its disposal, where technical measures are in place (air-locks, decontamination facilities) to prevent any accidental escape of pathogens into the environment.

• The Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg and Munich airports, as well as the competent health authorities are prepared to deal with cases of highly infectious diseases among travellers and have emergency plans, special premises for the examination of patients and the possibility to isolate patients in a hospital or other suitable facility at their disposal.

• The Network of Medical Competence and Treatment Centers for highly contagious life-threatening diseases (Netzwerk aus Kompetenz- und Behandlungszentren für das Management und die Versorgung von Personen mit hochkontagiösen und lebensbedrohlichen Erkrankungen (STAKOB)) has been operative in Germany since 2003.