Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone Managing Ebola Effectively

Dr. Abou Beckr Gaye, WHO representative for Guinea ; Dr. Sakoba Keita, Ebola response national coordinator for Guinea (center); and Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO executive director for outbreaks and health emergencies . Courtesy of WHO/M. Winkler

Health authorities from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and representatives of partner organizations have expressed confidence in the capacity of the three Ebola-impacted countries to effectively manage residual risks of new Ebola infections--pointing to the rapid government-led containment of recent flare-ups of the disease.

The review of prevention, detection and response capabilities of the three countries, as well as progress in expanding clinical care and screening for survivors came at a meeting March 1-2, 2016 in Conakry, Guinea, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and attended by some 80 participants. WHO, partners and Ministry of Health staff from the three countries have been meeting regularly throughout the epidemic to assess tactics, tools, research and operations and chart strategies accordingly.

Dr. Sakoba Keita, Guinea's national Ebola response coordinator, opened the meeting, asserting collective progress in meeting Phase 3 response goals: "We have enhanced our systems, are detecting and stopping small outbreaks of Ebola, identifying weak links and working together to minimize and manage risks of Ebola," he said. "We are currently at zero cases, but we hope to be at zero risk."

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