U.N. Leader Plans Stronger Presence in Ebola Zone

submitted by Mike Kraft

A burial team on Wednesday collected the body of a person who was thought to have died from Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia. Credit Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

nytimes.com - By SOMINI SENGUPTA, RICK GLADSTONE and SHERI FINK - September 17, 2014

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said on Wednesday that he planned to establish a new on-the-ground mission in West Africa to coordinate the struggle against Ebola, a move that signaled his concern with the response so far and the limitations of the World Health Organization’s abilities.

In an interview with the editorial board of The New York Times, Mr. Ban said that he intended to ask the General Assembly to support his plan in order to demonstrate the unanimous global concern about Ebola, the deadly virus that is spreading at exponential rates in three Western African countries.

Mr. Ban is scheduled to address a Security Council meeting devoted to Ebola on Thursday afternoon and said he was hoping to convene a special General Assembly session on Friday.

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