THE UN’s health agency has welcomed reports the federal government is making arrangements to support volunteers who want to travel to west Africa to fight the spread of the Ebola virus.
THE government is expected to announce on Wednesday details of a plan to assist about 200 medical volunteers to work in the Ebola hotspot of Sierra Leone under the umbrella of a private company or other non-government group.
World Health Organisation official Richard Brennan, from the department of emergency risk management and humanitarian response, said if correct the plan would help fill a void in the treatment and containment of the deadly virus. The agency needs more than 50 field hospitals across the three affected countries – Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia – but so far has only committed to run 30. “So this will fill an important void,” Mr Brennan told ABC radio on Wednesday. “We certainly at this stage don’t have our arms fully around the virus.” The government is not believed to be planning to involve itself in the direct deployment of medical personnel to west Africa, leaving it to the non-government organisation to oversee the operation. It’s previously argued against sending health workers to Ebola-affected areas, arguing there was no way to get them home safely if they became infected. The opposition says the best way to fight Ebola is at its source in west Africa. “What’s important is that we’ve made a start now, if the reports are correct,” Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said. It’s also believed the government could announce it’s made a deal with a British field hospital in Sierra Leone to treat any of the Australian personnel who became infected. Australian Medical Association president Brian Owler says if evacuation contingencies have been settled, the focus will needs to shift to ensure volunteer doctors and nurses are properly trained and resourced.