US Troops Planning on Being Sent to

Africa to Combat Ebola

According to a New York Times report by Helene Cooper, Michael D. Shear, and Denise Grady, United States President Barack Obama said that he will send along close to three thousand US troops, along with additional supplies to West Africa in order to stop the speed of the Ebola Virus. The US government also committed to build “17 Ebola treatment centers” in Liberia, as well as offering “400,000 Ebola home health and treatment kits in Liberia, as well as tens of thousands of kits intended to test whether people have the disease.” According to the New York Times report,

“Senior administration officials said Monday night that the Department of Defense would open a joint command operation in Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate the international effort to combat the disease. The military will also provide engineers to help construct the additional treatment facilities and will send enough people to train up to 500 health care workers a week to deal with the crisis.”

Such news is highly welcomed, given the horrible conditions in West Africa from the spread of the Ebola virus. It is important for non-governmental organizations, as well as international organizations to be a center point in fight against the virus. It is important for states to continue to provide aid and support, and to coordinate with actors on the ground. And in fact, we see groups such as the Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization working intensely against the Ebola virus. This is clearly an issue that should have the world working together to try to find a solution to the Ebola outbreak.