US Names 'Ebola Czar'
by VOA News October 17, 2014
U.S. President Barack Obama has named a former White House official as Ebola 'czar' to coordinate U.S. efforts to fight the deadly virus.
The White House announced Friday that Ron Klain, a former top aide to two vice presidents, will take the role. Obama had mentioned the possibility of an Ebola czar on Thursday, when he authorized additional military forces to help with containment efforts in West Africa.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has declared the nation of Senegal to be Ebola-free.
The WHO made the designation on Friday, after 42 days, or twice the maximum incubation period, had passed since Senegal reported a lone case of Ebola in a man who had traveled from Guinea. But the U.N. agency warned that Senegal's geographic location puts it at risk for further, imported cases of the disease.
Also Friday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told diplomats stationed in Washington that the international community must work together to resolve the Ebola crisis. He said barely a third of the $1 billion the U.N. says is needed to fight Ebola has been contributed.
Kerry warned that without more help, delivered quickly, Ebola will become a global crisis like polio.
A British Royal Navy ship is set to leave for Sierra Leone Friday with medical teams and experts aboard.
The World Health Organization announced Thursday it is sending teams to Ivory Coast and Mali to evaluate the countries' preparations to deal with the virus. The WHO will also increase coordination with an additional 13 at-risk countries in the region.
Also, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reissued his appeal for contributions to fight Ebola.
Member states have pledged just $20 million of the estimated $1 billion requested by December 1 to reduce the rate of transmission in West Africa.
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