- Title: UN Secretary-General says donor delays could mean loss of ''war against Ebola''
- Date: 2nd September 2019
- Summary: KINSHASA, DRC (SEPTEMBER 2, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES ARRIVING AT NATIONAL PALACE (PALAIS DE LA NATION) VARIOUS OF GUTERRES WALKING INTO PALAIS DE LA NATION GUTERRES ENTERING ROOM, SHAKES HANDS WITH DRC PRESIDENT FELIX TSHISEKEDI TSHISEKEDI AND GUTERRES SITTING DOWN TSHISEKEDI TALKING GUTERRES TALKING GUTERRES COMING DOWN STAIRS AFTER THE MEETING UN DELEGATION STANDING BEFORE NEWS BRIEFING LEYLA ZERROUGUI, HEAD OF UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (MONUSCO), WATCHING SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES, SAYING ''One of the results of this visit is the decision that we took in cooperation with the President of the Republic, to reinforce the operational capacity of MONUSCO, specifically in relation to the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) but we have also strengthened cooperation between MONUSCO and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to be more effective when responding to acts of terrorism that are unacceptable" MEDIA FILMING THE MEDIA CONFERENCE (MUTE) CAMERAMAN FILMING (MUTE) JEAN-PIERRE FRANCOIS RENAUD LACROIX UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS WATCHING SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (French) UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES SAYING "First of all, with Ebola we must acknowledge that the donor country pledges correspond, more or less, until the end of the year, to our needs. But we must turn commitments into effective payments. So far we have only received 15 percent of what we need until the end of the year. Now a week's delay during a normal humanitarian operation is not a problem; we can adapt the programme to resolve that issue. But in the case of Ebola a week without resources, a week without a response, it doesn't mean we lose a week, it can mean we lose the war against Ebola. Because things can get out of control immediately. So I have called for the donor countries to quickly make the payments they have committed to. GUTERRES LEAVING (MUTE)
- Embargoed: 16th September 2019 16:14
- Keywords: DRC. UN President Felix Tshisekedi UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Location: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
- City: KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Reuters ID: LVA001AUYTV0N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS NOTE: VIDEO AS INCOMING
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on donor nations to give the money they've pledged to fight Ebola on Monday (September 2), saying further delays could mean ''we lose the war against Ebola.''
Speaking on a visit to the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, Guterres said the UN had received only 15 percent of what it needed to fight the disease over the rest of this year.
More than 2000 people have died in the DRC over the last year, while the death in neighbouring Uganda of a 9-year-old girl who had tested positive for the virus after entering the country from Congo underscored the challenge medical teams face containing the disease in border territory with a highly mobile population. Responders are also battling to overcome community mistrust and widespread security problems.
Guterres also called on ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) fighters in the DRC to lay down their arms and announced the United Nations would reinforce its peacekeeping operation in the country, the United Nations Organisation Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) whilst expanding cooperation with the DRC's armed forces, to fight against what he called "acts of terrorism" in DRC.
(Production Credit: Benoit Nyemba, Hywell Davies) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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