Whitehouse asking Congress for 6 billion in aid for ebola in West Africa

[Vibrant62]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ebola-workers-congress-26851560?singlePage=true

Health workers on the front line of the Ebola crisis say the need for urgent help isn't letting up, as Congress begins considering President Barack Obama's $6.2 billion emergency aid request to fight the disease.

Despite reports that the number of infections is slowing in some parts of West Africa, cases still are rising in other areas ? and aid organizations say thousands of health care workers are needed to treat Ebola over the next few months.

"We're not yet at a point where we can have confidence that we're turning the corner, even in Liberia," said Andy Gleadle of the International Medical Corps, which is running a treatment center in Liberia and plans to open another in that country and two more in Sierra Leone.

Even with increasing global attention to the epidemic, it takes time to train new health workers, build field hospitals, and buy protective equipment for doctors and nurses.

snip

On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee is set to question Obama administration officials about the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak as it begins evaluating the emergency aid request. It includes $4.64 billion in immediate spending to fight the epidemic in West Africa, shore up U.S. preparedness, and speed the development and testing of Ebola vaccines and treatments.

More than $1.5 billion would be for a contingency fund to deal with any unexpected developments.

"The situation does change quite dramatically from one day to the next, one week to the next," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.

snip

[sharon sanders]

Re: Ebola Workers Ask Congress for Help

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireSto...inglePage=true

"The situation does change quite dramatically from one day to the next, one week to the next," Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.

I am glad that Dr. Frieden admitted that the situation is very fluid. There are messages that the situation is not very bad from Mr. Klain, the US ebola "czar":

"What we've shown now is that we can successfully identify and isolate an Ebola patient, we can make sure he doesn't infect other people, we can treat him, and we can send him home safely,"he said.

and dire assessments by MSF and others:

"Ebola: Hard-Won Gains in Liberia Must Not Be Undermined" link

"Extrapolating trends to January 20, 2015, without additional interventions or changes in community behavior (e.g., notable reductions in unsafe burial practices), the model also estimates that Liberia and Sierra Leone will have approximately 550,000 Ebola cases (1.4 million when corrected for underreporting)" CDC MMWR link



So which is it? And what justifies a 6 billion dollar expenditure in addition to the military/CDC/USAID etc. help that the US is already contributing.

It can't be both ways. The messaging I am getting is "Hey, don't worry about ebola but can we have 6 billion dollars? (to send to countries that have a terrible track record of distributing US aid fairly)."

It has been estimated that approximately $1.3 TRILLION USD has been illegally transferred out of Africa in the past three decades. link