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Marrakech- US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that the Ebola virus is “spiraling out of control” and could see “hundreds of thousands of people infected” if the world does not act.
Speaking at the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, he said that the outbreak was getting worse and spreading faster and that West African health services, which were weak to begin with, are now being overwhelmed. People are dying in the streets, he said. This disease is a threat to global security and the international community must act quickly.
The president announced that the US would set up a military command center in Liberia to help counteract the outbreak of the disease. He said that America was ready to provide the necessary leadership in the fight against Ebola. He would ensure that an air bridge would be created to fly in personnel and instructors to train health workers more quickly.
The US will build 17 hospitals with 100 beds each in the region and will staff them with health experts. The online site The Hill said that Congress had been exerting pressure on the President to take more action on Ebola. House Speaker John Boehner was reported as saying that he was surprised that it had taken so long for action.
The World Health Organization estimates that the outbreak could require a billion dollars of expenditure. Some experts said that the President’s call for a fund of $88 million to tackle Ebola was not enough.
The President concluded that the outbreak was going to get worse before it gets better, and that the world still had the opportunity to save countless lives.
