No other than the chief of the United Nations is flying to West Africa to personally see the improvements and needs of countries affected by the recent Ebola outbreak.
The UN chief is set to fly on Wednesday night. Included in his itinerary is a stop in Ghana, which holds the headquarters of the response unit of the organization. Then he's off to Sierra Leon, Guinea, and Liberia. These are the three countries in the region that registered the highest death toll. Sierra Leone alone had already posted more than 8,000 cases with about 2,000 deaths. It's followed by Liberia and Guinea with 3,290 and 1,525 deaths respectively. Overall, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), these three places had over 17,000 cases as of Wednesday, December 17.
He is also scheduled to visit Mali, where more than 8 cases have been confirmed with 6 deaths. So far, the country hasn't reported any new cases since November 27. If it continues, the WHO may eventually declare it as Ebola free.
The purpose of the trip is to show that the UN is one with the world in fighting against Ebola. He also wants to see how multi-channel efforts are helping in controlling the disease.
During the year-end press conference, where he also announced his decision to visit West Africa, he commended the solidarity displayed by many countries in order to help save many lives in the worst-affected regions. He also praised the health workers who are considered to be one of the high-risk individuals. Time magazine has recently recognized their heroic deeds by making them the Person of the Year in 2014.
However, he is also aware that there are still a number of issues that have to be addressed. These include the lack of resources such as treatment facilities and people especially health workers. For him, as long as there's a case of this disease, the risk still exists and that everyone should work to bring it to zero.