Sierra Leone: WHO too slow to help doc with Ebola

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone accused the World Health Organization on Monday of being “sluggish” in facilitating an evacuation of a doctor who died from Ebola before she could be sent out of the country for medical care.

Dr. Olivet Buck died Saturday, hours after the U.N. health agency said it could not help evacuate her to Germany.

Buck is the fourth Sierra Leonean doctor to die in an outbreak that has also touched Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. The West African outbreak has been blamed for more than 2,400 deaths, and experts say it is out of control. The U.S. has called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council for this week to discuss the crisis.

At a heated news conference Monday, a Sierra Leonean government official read a statement saying that the Buck is the second doctor from that country to die because negotiations on evacuation had dragged on. Dr. Sheik Humarr Khan, the country’s top Ebola expert, was being considered for evacuation when he died of the disease in July.

“In both the cases of late Dr. Khan and Dr. Buck, we have observed a sluggish willingness by WHO in facilitating medical evacuation of Sierra Leonean Ebola-infected doctors for advance treatment abroad,” according to a statement from a presidential communications task force read out by Deputy Minister for Political and Public Affairs Karamoh Kabba.

He added that the two doctors died while their fates “hung in negotiations.”

But the World Health Organization responded Monday that it can only evacuate its own staff and that, given the number of health workers becoming infected, the solution is not to evacuate them all anyway. Some 300 health care workers have been infected so far, about half of whom have died.

“We would like to help everyone, but we cannot help every health worker that gets infected,” said Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman at WHO. “We need to ensure enough quality health facilities in those countries so everyone can get treated, firstly health workers.”

Sierra Leone had requested funds from WHO to transport Buck to Europe. But on Monday, Kabba said that money was not the main impediment to evacuating Buck. It would have cost $70,000, he said, and the government had the money, but it needed WHO’s help to facilitate the evacuation. He did not elaborate on what that meant.

Jasarevic said that WHO is “not a medical evacuation agency.” Earlier, the agency had said that it would instead work to give Buck “the best care possible” in Sierra Leone, including possible access to experimental drugs.

Several foreign health and aid workers, including a Senegalese epidemiologist working with WHO, have been evacuated when they became infected. In at least some of those evacuations, the patients’ home governments and employers played a role in getting them out of West Africa.

Because Ebola is only transmitted through bodily fluids of people who are symptomatic, health care workers are at a particular risk. Some 300 have become infected since the outbreak began, exacerbating shortages of health care workers in countries that had too few doctors and nurses to begin with.

Meanwhile, International SOS, a medical and travel security risk services company, said it flew two Dutch doctors who may have been exposed to Ebola in Sierra Leone to the Netherlands on Sunday. The National Institute for Public Health and Environment said last week the doctors, who were working with an aid group, were not showing symptoms of Ebola but they had contact with infected patients without the proper protective equipment. Upon their arrival in the Netherlands, they were initially taken to the Leiden University Medical Center and their condition will be monitored.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Britney Barber, owner of Everett Improv. Barber performs a shows based on cuttings from The Everett Herald. Photographed in Everett, Washington on May 16, 2022. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
August 9 will be the last comedy show at Everett Improv

Everett improv club closing after six years in business.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas talks to the crowd about the new "Imagine Monroe" city flag and symbol before the ribbon cutting on Monday, July 14, 2025 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Monroe unveils its new $17M City Hall and municipal court

Mayor Geoffrey Thomas showcased the new campus to residents, local and state officials during a celebration Monday.

National Weather Service issues red flag warning for slopes of Cascades

High temperatures, low humidity and winds are combining for critical fire weather conditions, either “imminent or occurring now.”

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Lynnwood
Lynnwood child, 4, accidentally shoots mother, father arrested

The child retrieved a loaded firearm from his father, who was asleep at the time, South County deputies said.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.