The dangers of a global Ebola epidemic have been underplayed as international bodies have left the threat of this terrible disease to be handled by the mix of West African states immediately affected. This has not worked and people infected with Ebola have been appearing in a wide variety of places in several continents. In this age of global connectivity, it is necessary to take dramatic action to stop the spread of such a dangerous disease, which is why it is encouraging to find US President Barack Obama sending 3,000 US military personnel to West Africa to help fight the disease, and announce plans to expand the $763 million (Dh2.8 billion) US plan to help West African nations fight the spread of Ebola.
It is also important that the plan includes training for medical officials so that this vital knowledge spreads in the countries that need it most. This kind of knowledge-based approach should help allay local fears of government staff trying to contain the virus, which has greatly hampered their efforts and led to local people reverting to tragic solutions like isolating villages with an outbreak so that the virus is contained but everyone dies.
