Geneva, May 23 (IANS) UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has said that he is allocating up to $60 million from the world body’s Central Emergency Response Fund to accelerate the response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo and the wider region.

“We need to get ahead of this Ebola outbreak,” Fletcher said on Friday in a statement.

While the humanitarian community is fully mobilised, he said, “the epidemiological context is challenging: there are not yet licensed vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain”, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Noting that these are some of the most difficult operating environments in the world for the life-saving work, with conflict and high population movement, Fletcher said the United Nations is working to secure safe and sustained access for frontline responders, including to areas controlled by armed groups.

“It is essential that there is no obstruction to our response. We must have access to all routes — air, land and water — across the affected areas,” he added.

The UN Relief Chief underscored that containment depends on fast, coordinated action at the community level, stressing the importance of strong communication with governments, and effective early warning and detection systems.

Fletcher said he is in close contact with UN humanitarian coordinators and the teams in Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, and more staff from key UN agencies and partners are being deployed this weekend to reinforce the effort.

“Meanwhile, Norway will contribute 50 million Norwegian kroner ($5.39 million) to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies following a new Ebola outbreak in Congo, with confirmed imported cases in Uganda,” the Norwegian government said on Friday.

“When dangerous diseases break out, every hour counts. We must be able to respond immediately, before the situation escalates,” Norwegian Minister of International Development Aasmund Aukrust said in a press statement.

“The fund can release resources within 24 hours, and WHO has already disbursed $3.9 million to support the response to the Ebola outbreak,” according to the statement.

“Several of Norway’s partners are supporting efforts in contact tracing, laboratory capacity, treatment and community information. Norway’s long-term partnerships with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the Pandemic Fund will also play a role in the continued response,” according to the statement.

The WHO on Friday revised its risk assessment to “very high” at the national level, while remaining “high” at the regional level and “low” globally.

–IANS

int/ksk/khz