ONE reaction to the G20 Ebola Statement

Following the G20 statement on Ebola, Friederike Röder from the ONE Campaign reacts:

Finally, the G20 has realized that it can’t ignore the Ebola crisis anymore.

However, these words alone will not be sufficient in the light of the scope of the crisis. This declaration lacks substance on what leaders will do to deliver for the crisis: to contain it and to rebuild health systems so an outbreak like this can never cause such devastation again. Where the concrete actions are each G20 member states commits to in order to control the epidemic?  Where are the commitments to long term support to help the countries to recover from this crisis?

Some G20 countries, like the US and UK, have stepped up to the Ebola crisis- others – like G20 hosts Australia – have done shamefully little. This statement does not absolve Tony Abbott or any other leader from further action- unless all countries pull together, deliver quickly and coordinate their efforts this crisis will take longer than it should to contain. Brisbane is the time for action, not more words.

Also ONE is surprised that not all the G20 countries agree on the need to invest in order to prevent such a crisis to rise up again.

Contact: Annabel Hervieu – [email protected] – + 33 6 31 22 89 68

Note to the editors

We need:

• timebound pledges and quick disbursement
• leaders to deliver, now, the appropriate trained medical workers they talk of
• Crucially, leaders should be using this meeting to coordinate their responses: who is doing what where? Are they responding to the UN’s needs on the ground?