6 September 2014 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuiding Office in the country (UNIOGBIS) opened today in Bissau, a sub-regional training for medical professionals on Ebola.

SRSG Miguel Trovoada, in welcoming the initiative, said for such an epidemic as Ebola without cure but with a very high mortality rate, "one main issue of our collective response, in addition to a communication strategy and prevention measures, should be training and preparedness. It is the aim of our meeting", he underlined.

Stressing that Guinea-Bissau has no reported case of Ebola, the Head of the UN said, as the country has just returned to constitutional normalcy after democratic elections held recently, it is mobilizing support to deal with its numerous challenges, including health. "In this context, consequences would be very damageable for the country in the event of an Ebola outbreak. This is why the UN has been at forefront of efforts aimed at helping national authorities to put in place prevention and intervention mechanisms".

Under the theme, "Ebola Prevention Control and Awareness Training", the event takes place at UNIOGBIS Headquarters. 35 Health Care professionals from UN missions and offices in six West African countries, as well as medical personnel from Guinea-Bissau Health Ministry and the ECOWAS Military Mission in Bissau (ECOMIB) are participating in the training.

The training is conducted by experts from John Hopkins University. It is organized by UNIOGBIS in collaboration with the UN Medical Services Division in New York.

On 5 August, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vowed to mobilize the United Nations in every possible way to respond to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and issued an "international rescue call" for a massive surge in assistance, warning that "the world can no longer afford to short-change global public health."

WHO, in its latest report issued on 5 August, said the total number of Ebola cases now stood at 3,944 and deaths at 2,079 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, countries identified as "those with widespread and intense transmission." The fatality rate is 53 per cent. It ranges from 39 per cent in Sierra Leone to 64 per cent in Guinea.