Brussels, 05/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 3 December, 78 MEPs and 78 ACP parliamentarians met as the ACP-EU joint parliamentary assembly (JPA) and stated that the international community has the moral obligation to provide financial, medical, and operational assistance to the countries in West Africa affected by the Ebola virus. The emergency resolution adopted by unanimity in Strasbourg calls on the international community to respect its commitments and to continue its efforts. The EU, African Union (AU), and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were asked to provide the necessary assistance urgently - especially mobile medical units with qualified staff.
While they regret that the world has been slow to take the measure of how serious the epidemic is, the parliamentarians commend the fact that the international community and European Union have redressed the balance - the EU with over €1.1 billion and through its support to the AU.
The crisis is a threat to the fragile economies and political stability of the affected countries and the whole region. Convinced that the crisis cannot be resolved by the simple improvement of healthcare systems, the JPA advocates an integrated approach bringing different sectors together - education, training, hygiene and food assistance - in order to plug the basic gaps in all these crucial services.
The parliamentarians believe it is absolutely essential to isolate the virus without isolating the country, and also not to stigmatise the survivors. The JPA welcomes the establishment of the Medevac medical evacuation system which should be constantly updated and improved. The JPA also calls on the EU to increase its development cooperation in order to support and strengthen the ACP countries' health systems in the long term. (AN)