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Środa, 13 listopada 2019 r. - Bruksela

23. Ponowne pojawienie się eboli w Afryce Wschodniej (debata)

  President. – The next item is the debate on the Commission statement on the resurgence of Ebola in East Africa (2019/2897(RSP)).

Before I open the debate, I would like to inform you that, in order to request catch-the-eye and blue cards, it will be possible to use both the standard registration and the new system allowing Members to register electronically. Therefore, I invite you to always bring your voting card. Should you wish to register for catch-the-eye, I invite you to do so starting from now without waiting for the end of the debate.

Since we are running out of time, please also stick to the allocated time.

  Christos Stylianides, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, dear colleagues, thank you so much for organising this discussion in Parliament.

I really believe that it is the right moment to talk about Ebola in East Africa for two specific reasons: first because Ebola has resurged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is the tenth ever Ebola outbreak in the country. Its main characteristic is that it is happening in the most complex and fragile and insecure region of the eastern part of the DRC. The second reason is that despite the challenges on the ground, we have kept up the fight against Ebola. We are making steady steps of progress thanks to our relentless efforts with our partners in laboratories with experts and researchers, in meeting rooms with other donors and international organisations and on the ground together with patients, communities, local leaders and health workers.

Since 1 August 2018, when the current outbreak started, more than 3 200 people were infected. More than 2 100 people have, unfortunately, lost their lives. At the same time, more than 1 000 lives were saved.

When talking about Ebola, we should never forget the worst ever outbreak that hit West Africa five years ago. The European Union’s intervention at that time was critical in handling a situation which was completely out of control.

It was a very painful experience – including for me personally. I saw this first hand as soon as I took over my duties as European Commissioner and the EU Ebola coordinator in November 2014 when I visited, with my dear colleague Commissioner Andriukaitis, the three affected countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – at the peak of the crisis. I remember we talked a lot with my colleagues here and in Parliament and I always had your very crucial and very special support in this very difficult situation at that time.

But this crisis was also, five years ago, a milestone. It taught us important lessons that shape the way we responded to the Ebola epidemics that followed. The ninth Ebola outbreak in the DRC’s province of Équateur demonstrated that we took on board those lessons. That outbreak was declared in May and it ended in August 2018. We managed to contain the virus in three months. You can compare the situation with that of five years ago in West Africa.

I would like to mention four lessons that we learned and we now follow on the ground.

The first lesson and maybe the most important: act fast. Our response to the current outbreak in the eastern part of the DRC started on the same day the outbreak was declared. Already on day one, the European Union was transporting doctors and equipment to the affected areas.

The second lesson: be ready. This requires improved capacities. We are now able to do these things thanks to an excellent instrument – the European Medical Corps, which is part of the European Union civil protection mechanism. The European Medical Corps is Europe’s highly specialised medical teams ready to be deployed in health emergencies at very, very short notice. Our response capacities also include high-tech isolation units, in cooperation with Norway, and a mechanism for medical evacuation. I am talking about medevac: the medical evacuation of health and aid workers for treatment in the European Union, in cooperation with the World Health Organisation.

The third lesson, also extremely important: invest in prevention and cure – in vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatment. Since 2014, the European Union has invested more than EUR 231 million in vaccine development and research on Ebola treatments in diagnostic tests. One vaccine – with a second one in the pipeline – and two treatments are currently used in the DRC and in its neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda, and the results are very, very encouraging. On 31 October, as Commissioner, I announced together with my dear colleague, Commissioner Moedas, an additional EUR 6 million from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme to support a new vaccination trial in the DRC. Thanks to Parliament’s support, we have managed to mobilise more than EUR 47 million since 2018 for the humanitarian response to Ebola in the DRC, together with another EUR 5 million for prevention and preparedness measures in the neighbouring countries most at risk: Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi.

Last but not least, the final lesson: strengthen the local footprint. We help to address the critical problem of chronically weak national and local health infrastructure. We have mobilised EUR 180 million from the 11th European Development Fund, 2014-2020, to support the health sector in the DRC, and the health sectors in Burundi and South Sudan also received European development funds.

The response in the DRC in 2019 is not the same as in West Africa five years ago, in 2014. We have made significant progress in how we respond to Ebola. Despite the many challenges on the ground, and thanks to the dedication of epidemiologists and health workers, as I have already mentioned, more than 1 000 patients have recovered and more than 240 000 persons have been vaccinated, but it is also true that the reality on the ground sets the rules of the game. We must not forget that we are responding in a zone of active conflict where, unfortunately, access to clean water, food, basic healthcare and education is really a big challenge, with hundreds of thousands of cases of measles, malaria and cholera. And we have to respond on multiple fronts. This complicates our job and slows down our efforts, but it does not lessen our determination to save lives and help make Ebola history.

Thank you, my dear colleagues, for your attention. I tried to describe the situation not only in the DRC but also to compare five years ago in West Africa, and I look forward to your interventions and a very fruitful discussion.

  Lukas Mandl, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Frau Präsidentin! Herr Kommissar, vielen Dank für Ihre Ausführungen. Und da es möglicherweise die letzte Gelegenheit für die Aussprache hier im Plenum mit Ihnen ist, Herr Kommissar, möchte ich Danke sagen für Ihren Dienst an der Europäischen Union. Neben allen Herausforderungen, die naturgemäß zwischen dem Parlament und der Kommission immer gegeben sind, ist es wertvoll, wenn jemand einen Dienst tut. Und daher danke ich Ihnen für Ihren Dienst als Kommissar in der jetzt schon scheidenden Europäischen Kommission. Ein Dienst, der gerade in diesem Bereich so wichtig ist, weil wir ein Europa brauchen mit Stärke nach außen. Gerade im humanitären Bereich ist Europa besonders stark und kann Stärke zeigen, um ernst genommen zu werden auf der Welt und auch um im Rahmen der europäischen Werte einen Unterschied zu machen auf dieser Welt, einen Beitrag zu leisten.

Ebola ist eine furchtbare Krankheit, eine abscheuliche Krankheit und eine heimtückische Krankheit. In Westafrika sind 11 000 Menschen an Ebola gestorben, im Ostkongo ist Ebola wieder ausgebrochen und greift bereits auf Nachbarstaaten über. Afrika ist in unserer Nachbarschaft.

Viele Menschen zu Hause in Österreich fragen mich: Was ist das Besondere in der Beziehung mit Afrika? Für uns Europäerinnen und Europäer sind die Menschen in Afrika unmittelbare Nachbarn. Anders als die USA oder China oder andere Teile der Welt sind wir in unmittelbarer Nachbarschaft, und für Menschen in der Nachbarschaft trägt man Verantwortung. Also ist es wichtig, dass der neue Impfstoff, der jetzt gegen Ebola ins Treffen geführt werden kann, auch wirklich wirksam werden kann, indem wir als Europäische Union Stärke zeigen und die Ausrollung dieses Impfstoffes an die breite Bevölkerung möglich machen. Das ist im Interesse der Menschen vor Ort, und das ist in unserem ureigensten Interesse.

  Carlos Zorrinho, em nome do Grupo S&D. – Senhora Presidente, Senhor Comissário, o ressurgimento do ébola no Congo constitui um grave problema de saúde pública, que exige das autoridades locais e da comunidade internacional uma resposta no plano conjuntural e no plano estrutural.

O Senhor Comissário explicou, aliás, bem: temos que manter uma força de resposta rápida, preparada para atuar em condições de dificuldade, aprendendo com as experiências anteriores, melhorando a coordenação de meios e comunicando melhor para ganhar a confiança das populações.

E nesta dimensão, o esforço da União Europeia merece ser realçado. Conjugou neste combate 47 milhões de euros de apoio direto ao Congo e 4 milhões aos países vizinhos e enviou - como referiu - para o terreno especialistas e meios de ação adequados.

E é também importante realçar a decisão ontem mesmo tomada pela Comissão Europeia, através da nossa Agência Europeia de Medicamentos, de conceder autorização para a introdução no mercado de uma vacina contra o ébola, no quadro de um programa mais vasto que já inclui ensaios clínicos no Congo de um regime de vacinas financiado pelo programa Horizonte 2020. Nós investimos, mas temos resultados.

A eficácia e a prontidão possível nestas respostas de emergência é também um incentivo para incluirmos um investimento de longo prazo na saúde, na educação, no combate à pobreza e no desenvolvimento sustentável.

Na próxima semana, na capital do Ruanda, país vizinho, a Assembleia Parlamentar Paritária ACP/União Europeia realiza a sua 38.ª sessão plenária. O tema do ébola em concreto não vai estar em debate, mas debater-se-ão temas e linhas de ação que, no futuro, poderão ajudar a prevenir situações epidémicas de difícil controlo.

Por isso, Senhora Presidente, termino dizendo que esta é uma razão mais para que a União Europeia aposte sem reservas na parceria pós-Cotonu, incluindo a sua dimensão parlamentar.

  Martin Horwood, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Madam President, this extended Ebola outbreak is a disaster, not just because more than 2 000 people have lost their lives, but also because that number is still second only to that huge 2014—2016 outbreak in West Africa, and it is still rising. That shows that, as an interconnected world, we have so far failed to learn and act on important lessons from that earlier epidemic.

Now, it is fantastic that Europe more quickly mobilised more effective humanitarian effort in response – worth EUR 47 million – since the outbreak started last year and spent on healthcare, on infection control, on contact tracing, on support for survivors and on community engagement. It’s great that the EU is working with private companies to tackle the problem that it’s more profitable to sell headache cures to rich people than to treat rare diseases that mainly kill the poor. It’s also great that scientific and medical partnerships like Horizon 2020 and the Innovative Medicines Initiative mean that 236 000 people have been vaccinated with one Ebola vaccine – and we’ve now heard a second is on the way – and it breaks my heart that Brexit could jeopardise British participation in programmes like this.

But the scale of this outbreak – like the last – is not down to inadequate humanitarian response. It is because of systemic failures: poor health education that means many local people dismiss outbreaks as hoaxes and even attack or sometimes kill healthcare workers; poor health infrastructure, funded by inadequate domestic resources, with millions often lost to tax avoidance or simply destroyed by conflict; a global health workforce crisis that is worst in poor countries, fragile states and conflict zones and in which rich countries poach health workers from poor countries.

I’m pleased, as the Commissioner commented, that the EU’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO) is now investing in tackling some of these issues, but Europe needs to lead the world to do much more. European humanitarian aid is right and necessary, but if we are not to respond to yet more death in a few years’ time, we must also invest in public health, in health infrastructure, in local workforces, in domestic resources and in peace.

  Petra De Sutter, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, I would like to thank the Commissioner too – because he stressed the link between the Ebola outbreak and the health system strengthening that my colleague was just referring to.

Of course, the vaccines certainly are a step forward, but the many Ebola outbreaks over the past decades have shown that the biggest problem is not the lack of a vaccine but the lack of functioning health systems, and we need strong health systems to protect Congolese people and people anywhere else in the world against Ebola. We need strong health systems to counter the many other health challenges which do not make it to western newspaper headlines, including, for instance, high maternal and child mortality. Humanitarian organisations even warn us that the international Ebola response is taking away staff and financial support to address these other challenges.

I therefore urge the EU to use the Ebola crisis as a means to strengthen the health systems in these countries and to make sure that Ebola activities are integrated within their health systems.

  Joanna Kopcińska, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Pani Przewodnicząca! Panie Komisarzu! W lipcu tego roku Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia ogłosiła wybuch epidemii wirusa Ebola w Demokratycznej Republice Konga jako stan zagrożenia zdrowia publicznego o zasięgu międzynarodowym. Unia Europejska, aktywnie zaangażowana od lat w pomoc, i tym razem działa aktywnie w wielu obszarach współpracy. Przedwczoraj Komisja Europejska, jak słyszeliśmy, zatwierdziła wprowadzenie na rynek pierwszej szczepionki przeciw wirusowi Ebola, co stanowi przełom w zapobieganiu tej śmiertelnej chorobie.

W moim osobistym przekonaniu nie chodzi jednak tylko o środki finansowe, ale o lekcję, jaką musimy wyciągnąć, by odpowiednio zarządzać zasobami, kontrolując przy tym ograniczony aspekt finansowy. W pełni popieram działania mające na celu walkę z chorobą, niezależnie jednak od słusznie podjętych działań będę przyglądać się procesowi alokacji środków i będę w razie potrzeby zgłaszała dodatkowe pytania do Komisji z uwagi na fakt, że 31 października Komisja Europejska ogłosiła dodatkowe wsparcie w wysokości 6 milionów euro na próby szczepień w ramach programu „Horyzont 2020”, a od samego 2014 r. przeznaczono już łącznie ponad 230 milionów euro na ten cel.

  João Ferreira, em nome do Grupo GUE/NGL. – Senhora Presidente, o atual surto de ébola é o segundo maior já registado após a epidemia que matou mais de onze mil pessoas entre 2013 e 2016, tendo sido já declarado como emergência de saúde pública de carácter internacional pela Organização Mundial de Saúde.

A autorização de introdução no mercado de uma nova vacina é uma esperança para pessoas em risco de contrair esta doença, mas importa garantir que este avanço chegue às populações em risco o mais rapidamente possível de forma universal e gratuita.

É necessário retirar todas as lições da anterior epidemia, e não esquecer que a frágil infraestrutura de saúde em muitos países foi determinante na incapacidade para fazer frente à progressão da epidemia.

Além da imperiosa ajuda de emergência é necessário apoiar a construção de sistemas públicos de saúde universais e gratuitos e a formação de pessoal especializado. É necessário combater a hegemonia das farmacêuticas no desenvolvimento de novos fármacos, a ditadura das patentes. É necessário anular a dívida externa destes países e acabar com os programas do FMI e do Banco Mundial que perpetuam o atraso e a dependência. É necessário apoiar o desenvolvimento de serviços públicos essenciais, nomeadamente em domínios como a água e o saneamento.

  Mónica Silvana González (S&D). – Señora presidenta, creo que el título adecuado es el resurgimiento del ébola en el África central, dado que es en la República Democrática del Congo, en el África central, donde han surgido estos casos.

Como decía el comisario, es una zona con un reto humanitario de enorme magnitud, donde más de trece millones de personas necesitan nuestra ayuda humanitaria; más personas han muerto a causa de la violencia que del ébola.

Si nuestro objetivo es poner fin a este brote, debemos adoptar un enfoque más integral. El desarrollo de la vacuna, apoyada y financiada por la Unión Europea, constituye un importante avance. Sin embargo, no debemos desviar la atención de las medidas preventivas. Necesitamos abordar los temores y preocupaciones de la comunidad, apoyándonos —como bien decía el comisario— en las organizaciones locales. Este brote solo terminará cuando las comunidades estén comprometidas en esta lucha y esta esté liderada por una respuesta local, por ejemplo, en lo que tiene que ver con los entierros seguros y dignos —el entierro de los cadáveres—. También hay que focalizar el trabajo en las mujeres, dado que son las más afectadas por el ébola, ya que suelen ser las principales cuidadoras en situación de riesgo.

Este nuevo brote pone de relieve, una vez más, que no hay sustituto para la inversión en salud a largo plazo. La salud debe seguir ocupando un lugar destacado en la agenda de desarrollo de la Unión Europea, que debe dar apoyo al sector sanitario del Congo. En definitiva, es necesario un enfoque integral que vaya más allá de la enfermedad, que abarque el trabajo conjunto en desarrollo, no solamente la ayuda humanitaria.

  María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew). – Señora presidenta, señor comisario, la declaración de emergencia global en la República Democrática del Congo, un año después de que un nuevo brote afianzase esta epidemia, ha dejado ya más de dos mil muertes y tres mil infecciones relacionadas con el virus. Esto da muestra de la gravedad de este nuevo brote.

Quiero felicitarle, señor comisario, porque la prevención contra este terrible virus es una prioridad de primer orden y la autorización el 11 de noviembre de la comercialización de la vacuna contra el ébola —denominada Ervebo— creo que es un paso fundamental.

Hacer frente a esta epidemia en una zona de conflicto es un reto, pero, además, nos encontramos ahora frente a un conflicto poco conocido: los trabajadores sanitarios se enfrentan a ataques y amenazas. En 2019 se han producido más de doscientos ataques contra hospitales, médicos y trabajadores sanitarios con decenas de muertes precisamente por las noticias falsas que se transmiten a través de WhatsApp diciendo que el virus no existe y que es todo un negocio para que los políticos saquen dinero. Es terrible la frecuencia, la letalidad de los ataques, que están afectando a la lucha contra la epidemia y la vacunación mientras la enfermedad avanza.

  Rory Palmer (S&D). – Madam President, we’ve all clearly agreed with the scale of the challenge that is presented when terrible diseases like Ebola break out in places that already have pre—existing security and humanitarian challenges, where there is poor infrastructure and poor access to services for people. So we need to be clear in this debate not just about analysing the challenge of what is happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the moment, but about what we expect in the future, in the plan for Africa that the Commission President-designate has committed to. We need to be clear this evening in saying that we want health protection, prevention of disease and health security to be high—level strategic priorities in that plan, and if those things are not the top priorities in that plan, any such future plan for Africa presented by the Commission in the future should not command the support of this Parliament.

  Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (Renew). – Madame la Présidente, l’épidémie d’Ebola en République démocratique du Congo est une urgence sanitaire mondiale et constitue un réel danger pour les autres pays également, même éloignés, du fait des cas importés.

Nous saluons la toute récente mise sur le marché officielle du vaccin, qui permettra de protéger l’entourage des personnes malades et également les professionnels de santé. Nous saluons également la force de la coopération internationale et multidisciplinaire, fortement soutenue par la Commission européenne, qui a permis cette belle avancée technologique. Nous attirons l’attention de la Commission sur plusieurs nécessités: renforcer les systèmes de santé locaux qui sont précaires, coordonner la gestion des stocks afin d’éviter les risques de pénurie, informer les populations et lutter contre les risques de fake news qui ont déjà été évoqués précédemment, et préparer les pays européens à réagir face à de potentiels cas importés.

  Maria Arena (S&D). – Madame la Présidente, on l’a dit, l’épidémie actuelle en République démocratique du Congo est la deuxième en importance après l’épidémie de 2014 en Afrique de l’Ouest, qui a fait 11 000 morts.

Malheureusement, la RDC doit aussi faire face à une guerre dite, de manière assez cynique, «à basse intensité». Basse intensité qui a fait plus de 6 millions de morts depuis 1994. C’est dans cette même région du Kivu qu’Ebola est en train d’agir et c’est dans cette même région que les groupes armés détruisent aujourd’hui les centres de soins, ce qui rend effectivement difficile le travail humanitaire. Il faut évidemment une intervention d’urgence, et je vous remercie pour l’intervention humanitaire que vous faites. Une information de la population, le travail avec les communautés locales, c’est important. Mais il faut surtout soutenir une politique à plus long terme en RDC, qui rende l’accès à la santé efficace et accessible à tous.

Vous le savez, nous avons voté une loi sur les minerais des conflits. Eh bien! le monde de l’entreprise a demandé que cette loi soit reportée à 2021, en matière d’application. Pourquoi? Parce que le monde de l’entreprise ne veut pas payer pour les ressources. Aujourd’hui, ce pays est un pays riche et les gens sont là, assis sur des mines d’or et en même temps, ils meurent.

Alors quand j’entends qu’il faut traiter Ebola parce que c’est contagieux pour le monde, je dis: il faut traiter Ebola parce que c’est contagieux en RDC pour les Africains et c’est là qu’il faut agir.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Tudor Ciuhodaru (S&D). – Doamnă președintă, sunt Tudor Ciuhodaru, medic, medic de urgență în Iași, România, Spitalul Clinic de Urgență „Nicolae Oblu”, un oraș, un colectiv, un spital unde se dă ora exactă în medicina de urgență. În 2015 am primit cel mai frumos cadou de ziua mea, oferta mea de voluntariat contra Ebola a fost acceptată, fiind pus pe o listă scurtă după o selecție dintre mii de candidați, fiind considerat una dintre cele mai potrivite și bine pregătite persoane pentru a interveni în situații de urgență. Atunci era o situație tragică: 94 de cadre medicale își pierduseră viața și era doar un medic la o sută de mii de locuitori.

Cred că la ora actuală trebuie să asigurăm două lucruri esențiale: pe de o parte educația pentru sănătate, pentru că fără acele cunoștințe, deprinderi, abilități, și știți că Ebola depinde foarte mult și de respectarea regulilor de igienă și nu numai, lucrurile nu vor putea evolua favorabil și că această educație pentru sănătate ar trebui să devină o prioritate în școlile din Europa, iar pe de altă parte, bariera economică pentru care dumneavoastră faceți eforturi considerabile. În plus, resursa umană nu este de neglijat și acel corp medical este un lucru extrem de important, pentru că nu trăim sub un clopot de sticlă. Și uitați-vă, situații asemănătoare apar și în Europa: de curând este o alertă epidemiologică la granița de nord a României, în Ucraina, legată de difterie.

Așa că, încă o dată, stimate comisar, îmi ofer încă o dată, onorată Comisie, și disponibilitatea de a fi voluntar în astfel de situații, dar gândiți-vă că acel standard european de calitate în sănătate trebuie să devină obligatoriu.

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

  Christos Stylianides, Member of the Commission. – Madam President, dear colleagues, thank you so much for your positive contribution in this very fruitful debate.

Through this debate, I once again realise that we all agree that the Ebola crisis in West Africa was a test for the international community and it taught us that we cannot be complacent about Ebola. Five years after the largest Ebola crisis in our history, we learned important lessons, we adapted our response, we redefined our approach and now we know better what to expect and how to respond. In fact, we are ready before the alarm goes off. More staff is on the ground, there are now vaccines and treatments with effective results, and the overall support is much more coordinated than five years ago.

In the European Union as a whole, and for me personally, until the end of my mandate (nobody knows when that will be), we will continue to be in close contact with the national authorities and local authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighbouring countries, but at the same time, with the global coordinator, the World Health Organisation, and our partners on the ground, the UN agencies and other international organisations, just to make sure that our response is really sufficient and adequate.

We have to give an effective response to Ebola to finally break the cycle of the epidemics. We should also start charting the post-Ebola phase. I totally agree with many of you already focused on the problem of the healthcare systems in many African countries, especially in the DRC. We must strengthen the national health systems and their capacities to respond to epidemics. Of course in the DRC and in the neighbouring countries, and as you know – this is one of my favourite expressions – we have to see stronger humanitarian—development nexus, which needs to be put in place in order to see sustainable health systems in these countries.

I completely agree with this approach, but as you know, this is a medium- and long-term approach. At the same time, we have to focus on urgent needs, and this is our role as humanitarian actors. At the same time, we have to continue to advocate with our international partners for enough resources.

Frankly speaking, in some cases in Africa, we Europeans saw ourselves as alone. This is the hard reality on the ground.

But, finally, we must not forget that the scale of Ebola in eastern DRC follows decades of violence, totally absent state institutions, constant displacement, poverty and the multiple humanitarian needs for millions of Congolese in the region. We, together, already realise the root causes of this problem, but with Parliament’s commitment, we have to manage to scale up our response to Ebola, and I really sincerely thank you for this support – because I can compare the situation five years ago and now. I know well the situation on the ground and, at the same time, I can say that it was very important because we show people in practice that the European Union cares outside of Europe. The European Union – yes – is a union of solidarity and we are determined to continue to do our best to fully control the current Ebola epidemic as we did before and I’m sure, together, we will win in this very demanding battle.

Thank you so much again for your attention and for your support.

  President. – The debate is closed.

Written statements (Rule 171)

  Dominique Bilde (ID), par écrit. – La crise de l’Ebola connaît actuellement un tournant décisif avec l’utilisation combinée d’au moins deux vaccins - laquelle avait été au cœur de graves polémiques en République démocratique du Congo- et la découverte de traitements à même de réduire drastiquement la mortalité. Ces avancées ne doivent pas nous conduire à relâcher nos efforts en faveur de régions affectées, où l’épidémie se greffe souvent sur une instabilité chronique - c’est le cas dans la région du Nord Kivu, déchirée par une guerre civile meurtrière. Dans ces zones, la défiance de populations traumatisées par des années de conflit armé entrave le déploiement des équipes sanitaires, conduisant parfois à des attaques fatales contre le personnel médical. Au-delà de l’aspect financier, un véritable appui humain aux professionnels de santé, paraît donc indispensable. N’oublions pas toutefois la sécurité de nos propres populations. Il serait curieux qu’alors que le Japon, pays pourtant relativement peu en contact avec le continent africain, muscle sa préparation contre le virus, l’Union européenne reste quant à elle attentiste. C’est d’autant plus vrai qu’à l’Ebola s’ajoute une seconde menace sanitaire : celle de la rougeole, qui fait d’ailleurs déjà son grand retour sur notre continent.