Europe doesn't 'care enough' about Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, says Mary Robinson

Almost 5,000 dead, more than 10,000 infected. The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is escalating, yet the international response is struggling to keep pace. The Elders, a group of former world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, are demanding urgent action. Earlier I spoke to one of their most influential personalities, former Irish President Mary Robinson. And I started by asking her whether we're witnessing a global health emergency that the world is simply choosing to ignore. Here's what she said. It's really tragic what's happening because this is the fastest moving Ebola, 10,000 cases and about 50% mortality, which means more than 5,000 people have died. But worse than that, they're not able to follow up on the contacts. Because of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, of course, I know it well from my time as mediator for the Great Lakes in Africa, for the UN, and there's an urgent need for resources to help with contacts, to help the health workers, the frontline health workers, and to help with humanitarian access, etc. It has now spread. There are some cases also in Kenya, In Kenya, in Uganda, in Nigeria, and France. Very dangerous because of the fact that they are not able to trace the contacts and much less than in the Ebola in 2014, for example. And this is very worrying. So the elders are calling for more international action. What exactly are you demanding? Is it more money, more medical personnel or a totally different international approach to this crisis? We're so worried that we actually wrote an open letter to the G20 because €3 billion was pledged, but only €1 billion is being released. And of course, the G20 includes members of the EU. So we ask for the release of the funds that were pledged and are needed really urgently. And this should include specific funds to protect, pay and support health workers and community leaders. Thank you very address the security dimension of the crisis much. by pressurizing armed groups in the DRC and neighboring countries with influence to allow safe access for health and humanitarian workers. They're the main calls that we make in that open letter. It was really very worrying, as I said, to see how quickly this is spreading, how high the mortality rate is, and that, you know, Only a billion of the three billion pledged has actually been released to address it. So you've been a leading international voice for human rights and international global justice. Thank This is kind of a tough question. Is the impression right that the international community treats African lives as less valuable than European and American lives? you I'm afraid it is a tough question, but I'm... very You have to feel that the lives of those who are invisible to us, they're poor, they live in remote areas that are under difficulty much. of militias and armed groups, and we don't care enough. We don't care enough, that's true. And are Western governments guilty of complacency here, or are they simply overwhelmed by the magnitude of the crisis and shrinking aid budgets? I think there are a number of factors that distract governments. But the point we're making is this is dangerous. If you have a highly communicable disease and you're not able to trace the contacts because you don't have the resources to do it, it will spread further. And this could be really serious, particularly for African countries, but then it will spread to Europe.