INDONESIA TO JOIN GLOBAL EFFORTS TO QUELL EBOLA CRISIS by Fardah

    Jakarta, Sept 30, 2014 (Antara) - Although no Ebola case has been reported in Indonesia so far, the country has been cautious and has adopted all the necessary measures to prevent the infection from spreading in the country.

         Preventive measures are crucial as some 200 thousand Indonesians Muslims are visiting Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage, which is also observed by millions of Muslims from across the world, including from Africa, which is being hit by the Ebola outbreak.

        Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani, during his meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bali, in August 2014, requested Indonesia to hold a meeting of the OIC member countries' health ministers to discuss the ongoing Ebola crisis. Indonesia is currently the chair of the OIC Health Ministers High Level Meeting.

         "The OIC secretary general hoped that Indonesia could initiate a meeting of the health ministers from the OIC member nations to discuss the Ebola crisis since most of the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak are its member countries," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa noted in Nusa Dua, Bali, on the sidelines of the Sixth UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum.

          The minister remarked that Indonesia has responded to the appeals put forth by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health organizations to anticipate the spread of the Ebola virus.

         The Indonesian government has also constantly monitored the spread of the Ebola virus in Saudi Arabia through coordination with the Saudi government, Health Affairs Minister Nafsiah Mboi was quoted as saying by Republika.co.id.

         "We continue to communicate and coordinate with the Saudi Arabian government about the spread of the Ebola virus in the country," the minister revealed after opening the national congress on the science of child health in Palembang, South Sumatra, in August 2014.

         She remarked that supervision efforts have been intensified to prevent prospective Indonesian Hajj pilgrims from contracting the Ebola virus and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

        Minister Mboi, however, reiterated that the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims should not worry about the spread of the Ebola virus in Saudi Arabia as the government has tightened screening procedures for those arriving from Ebola-affected countries. 
      Head of the Indonesian Health Ministry's Health Research and Development (Balitbangkes), Tjandra Yoga Aditama, in early September noted that the Indonesian pilgrims heading for the Holy Land have been advised to be vigilant about diseases, which have flu-like symptoms, in view of the recent threat of Ebola and MERS-CoV.

         "If pilgrims in Saudi Arabia experience respiratory or flu-like illness (influenza-like illness/ILI), they must immediately contact medical officials," he stressed.

          Tjandra remarked that the Ebola virus was, in fact, less likely to spread among the pilgrims in Mecca in 2014 because African countries, where the outbreak has been reported, and the government of Saudi Arabia have jointly undertaken preventive measures, which are being deemed fairly effective.

          "There is little possibility of the Ebola infection spreading during Hajj as since the beginning of 1976, the virus has been known to be active only in the African continent. Besides this, the government of Saudi Arabia did not give visas to the pilgrims belonging to Ebola-hit countries," Tjandra pointed out.

          Dr Zaenal Abidin, the chairman of the Indonesia Medical Association, recently expressed confidence that the health team for the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims had adopted the necessary preventive measures.

             "Usually, the Hajj pilgrims receive serum injections before departing and also after returning home," he pointed out.

            He explained that the serum functions as an antibody that increases the immunity of the Hajj pilgrims as an anticipatory measure against contracting the disease.

             "The vaccination is carried out by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. As far as I know that is what they do," he stated.

           The death toll due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has risen to at least 3,091 out of the total 6,574 probable, suspected, and confirmed cases, the WHO was quoted as saying by Reuters.     
    Liberia has recorded 1,830 deaths, around thrice as many as those reported in either Guinea or Sierra Leone, the two other most affected countries, according to WHO's data received up to Sept. 23.

            Reuters also reported that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has the potential to infect 20 thousand people as soon as early November unless rigorous infection control measures are implemented and might "rumble on" for years in a holding pattern, researchers claimed on Tuesday.

            In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, experts from the WHO and Imperial College noted that infections will continue to climb exponentially unless patients are isolated, contacts traced, and communities enlisted. The WHO, in an initial roadmap issued on Aug. 28, had forecast that the virus could strike 20 thousand people within the next nine months.

          President of Ghana John Dramani Mahama reported on Sept. 26 that the Ebola disease is a problem faced by the entire world and not just West Africa or a few countries.

            "Ebola is not just a Liberian problem or a Sierra Leonean or Guinean problem. It is not just a West African problem. Ebola is a problem that belongs to the world because it is a disease that knows no boundaries," Mahama emphasized during his address at the UN General Assembly in New York.

          Agreeing to Mahama's viewpoint, the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, and Australia (MIKTA) highlighted the need for global efforts to contain the Ebola crisis in Africa, during their meeting held on the sidelines of the 69th UN General Assembly session in New York, on Sept. 25.

         Ebola can evolve into a grave threat to global health if the international community failed to take prompt steps to curtail the spread of the virus, the ministers were quoted as saying by the Indonesian foreign ministry in a recent press statement.

             The five ministers hailed the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and lauded the measures adopted by the WHO and the UN secretary general.

            Global health efforts were crucial ahead of the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and the Post-2015 Development Agenda discussed in the 69th UN General Assembly Session in New York, stated Minister Natalegawa, who attended the MIKTA meeting in New York.

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