Australia Closes Lone Ebola Treatment Centre In Sierra Leone

Australia has decided to close its lone Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone now that the disease is under control in West Africa. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the closure decision was aided by a rationalisation and consolidation process of Ebola treatment centres led by the Sierra Leone government.

Bishop said in a statement that the number of new infections have been decreasing in the region, noting the number of more beds than patients in the treatment centres in the west African country. The Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone will close by the end of April, effectively recovering back $7.5 million as part of the emergency humanitarian fund under the foreign aid budget. For the 2014-15 financial year, Australia had set aside $120 million for the emergency humanitarian fund.

The Australian-funded centre opened in December 2014. It admitted 216 patients, with 36 successfully treated. The remaining 120 tested negative for Ebola. "In total, Australia has made a significant, practical and timely contribution of more than A$37 million to the international Ebola response," Bishop's statement said.

Bishop likewise lauded Aspen Medical for its exemplary handling of the facility in Sierra Leone. She said that apart from treating patients, Australia's Ebola treatment centre had trained more than 250 Sierra Leonean staff for skills building and capacity.

It remained to be known, however, what will happen to the facility, as well as with the leftover drugs and medical equipment, once Australia officially pulls out by month’s end. Guardian Australia reports it is unclear if these will be donated to the Sierra Leonean government.

The World Bank on Saturday pledged to extend $US650 million during the next 12 to 18 months to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The global financial institution said it hoped the cash will help the three west African countries recover social and economic impacts brought by the Ebola outbreak and crisis. It added that in 2015 alone, the countries had lost US$2.2 billion in GDP - US$240 million for Liberia, US$535 million for Guinea and US$1.4 billion for Sierra Leone.

Aid organisations in Australia are urging the government to continue in the long-term recovery and building for the countries most ravaged by the recent Ebola virus. They said the $7.5 million would be better off spent on “building post-outbreak resilience in the impoverished regions of West Africa so that future disease outbreaks have less impact,” according to the Guardian.

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