PH contribution to int’l fight vs Ebola: P90M

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines has contributed P90 million to the global response to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, which has claimed thousands of lives in West Africa.

The Philippine donation was made after Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario and United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim Terence D. Jones signed on Wednesday the Standard Administrative Arrangement between the Philippines and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the management of the country’s contribution to the Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF).

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) quoted Del Rosario as saying that the Philippines was committed to help in the ongoing Ebola outbreak response efforts, as well as in initiatives for the prevention of future outbreaks.

He noted that the P90-million contribution was a step in this direction.

“This is but one way for us to give back to the international community for the outpouring of support in the aftermath of Supertyphoon ‘Haiyan’ (Yolanda),” Del Rosario said, adding that it is also part of the commitment “to protect and promote the welfare of Filipinos overseas.”

Jones, speaking for the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, lauded the Philippines for helping address not only the challenges posed by Ebola, but also challenges posed by other pressing cross-border issues, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction and management and the post-2015 sustainable development goals.

Attending the event were World Health Organization representative Julie Lyn Hall, Health Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Dr. Nemesio T. Gako and the 14-member Ebola Rapid Response Team, led by Ambassador Ricardo M. Endaya, who recently returned from West Africa to assist Filipinos in the Ebola-affected areas.

Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by the infection with one of the Ebola virus strains and spreads through human-to-human transmission.

The Ebola Response MPTF was launched by the UN secretary general as a common financing mechanism to ensure the coherent response of the UN system and rapid and transparent mobilization of funding from all stakeholders. It is administered by the UNDP-MPTF Office in New York, according to the DFA.