Canada providing funding to the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response
October 17, 2014 – Toronto, Ontario – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Today, the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Health, on behalf of the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced additional funding to support international efforts led by the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to respond to the immediate needs related to the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
UNMEER is the first-ever UN emergency health mission set up in response to the unprecedented outbreak. The United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) have declared the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa to be both a public health emergency and a complex crisis requiring a range of measures.
Canada was one of the earliest responders to the Ebola crisis with the provision of humanitarian assistance being delivered as early as April 2014. Deployment of labs and diagnosticians began in June 2014. Canada has also announced additional humanitarian and other assistance to address the Ebola crisis. This includes offering protective equipment, with two shipments already delivered to West Africa, as well as donating 800 to 1,000 doses of Canada’s experimental Ebola vaccine to WHO.
There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in Canada and no direct flights into Canada from affected countries in Africa. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the risk to Canadians remains low. At the border, Canada has adopted additional scrutiny for passengers that have been in affected countries in Africa. All international points of entry into Canada are routinely monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Canada will continue to monitor the situation in the West Africa region to ensure humanitarian, health and security needs are met.
Maxime Robert
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
343-203-6238
maxime.robert@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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