The Head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Mr. Anthony Banbury, visited Mali on 19 November 2014 to consult with and listen to the government, the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSMA), UN agencies and other partners and gain a better understanding of the current situation and response to the Ebola crisis in the country.

UNMEER’s mission is to help the countries affected by Ebola, and the objective of Mr. Banbury’s visit was to assess needs and possible gaps in the response in Mali, and to see how UNMEER could support the government not only in its efforts to end the current crisis, but also to put in place the necessary capacity to react quickly should there be any new cases in the future.

Mr. Banbury held a series of meetings with interlocutors ranging from President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and the Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Mr. Ousmane Koné, to the WHO Representative in Mali, Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, MINUSMA’s Officer-in-Charge, Mr. David Gressly, the senior management of the Mission and implementing partners, and said he had been very impressed by the strong leadership of President Keita in managing the crisis, including through the appointment of a national coordinator, Professor Samba Sow.

“A strong national leadership is an absolutely essential component of an effective response to the Ebola crisis,” he stressed. “The president is playing that role and the United Nations is committed to supporting him and his government in bringing this crisis to a close.”

Mr. Banbury said that other crucial elements of an effective response to the Ebola crisis in any country were the existence of a national plan that, if implemented and achieved, can bring the crisis to an end, as well as strong, well-coordinated international support for governments and their efforts.

Mr. Banbury emphasized that the fact that there have been only a small number of cases in Mali presents an opportunity to learn from the lessons of the past and the experiences of other countries and stop the virus from spreading further.

“We know what we need to do to put an end to the crisis and we have the chance to do that now, here in Mali, before it spreads, so it doesn’t kill more people in this country,” he concluded.

According the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been six cases of Ebola in Mali as of 18 November (five confirmed and one probable case). Five of them have died.