Mounting international effort against Ebola

Mounting international effort against Ebola

חיילים מהדיביזיה המוטסת ה-101 של צבא ארה"ב בליבריה

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US Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Liberia
US Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Liberia

Reports of expanding international aid to West Africa in the wake of rising Ebola death toll and the spread of the disease are hailing growing US, British and German involvement on the ground.

In addition to the US, Spain, Turkey, and additional countries are regularly sending medical supplies and equipment West Africa. The WHO, the CDC and the EU are doing their best to sound the alarm about the threat, and airports security has been stepped up worldwide, not only in the US. Tougher measures are being taken to screen incoming flights from Africa, given the Ebola mortality rates exceed 70%.

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said his country would provide more than 750 troops to help build treatment centers and an Ebola “training academy” in Sierra Leone. Army medics and helicopters will provide direct support. Britain will also contribute an aviation support ship.

iHLS Israel Homeland Security

British troops are expected to arrive next week in Sierra Leone, where they will join military engineers and planners who have been there for nearly a month helping to construct medical centers.

The German military, which has already been flying material such as protective clothing from Senegal to the worst-hit countries, planned to start a wider deployment of aid in mid-November. The military is expected to set up a clinic for 50 patients.

These forces are expected to operate in tandem with American forces already on the Ground. There are currently nearly 300 US Marines deployed in Liberia, aiding local health workers with logistics missions. The US may send as many as 4000 soldiers to West Africa to aid in the fight against the Ebola epidemic. The US is already considering pulling more forces out of Afghanistan to aid missions in Africa.