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Mission Not Yet Accomplished --Editorial

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EDITORIAL: NEW YORK TIMES                                       Feb. 17, 2015
President Obama has announced that almost all of the American troops sent to West Africa to help contain the Ebola epidemic will be withdrawn soon. That makes sense because they have largely completed the work they were sent to do. The next phase of the battle will rely on public health measures carried out by local and international health workers and experts.

Despite major gains, about 100 new cases are detected each week. It will take a concerted effort, backed financially by the United States and others, to drive that number down to zero....

The main task now facing public health workers is to find all people infected with Ebola and trace and isolate all their contacts to prevent passing the virus to others. The goal is to eradicate all traces of the virus from the afflicted countries. A well-trained work force will be essential to this task. As Mr. Obama warned last week, “Every case is an ember that if not contained can light a new fire.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/16/opinion/mission-not-yet-accomplished.html

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NEW YORK TIMES  LETTER TO THE EDITOR                                                               Feb. 23, 2015
by Michael J. Nyenhuis, President and Chief Executive AmeriCares

To the Editor:

Reform After the Ebola Debacle” (editorial, Feb. 10) rightly points out the shortcomings of the World Health Organization’s Ebola response and the sweeping reforms that could prevent another lackluster response in the future. But the W.H.O. is only partly to blame.

The countries hardest hit by the epidemic were struggling to provide basic health care services when Ebola began to thin the ranks of scarce medical professionals....

We have a moral obligation not only to parachute in during times of crisis, but also to build a better health system in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other struggling countries.

It’s the only way to give them a fighting chance to contain the next outbreak.

MICHAEL J. NYENHUIS

President and Chief Executive AmeriCares

Stamford, Conn.

Read complete letter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/opinion/the-task-after-ebola.html?_r=0

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