WEBVTT 00:00:15.343 --> 00:00:20.358 When I was asked to, invited, rather, to give this talk a couple of months ago 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:23.741 we discussed a number of titles with the organizers 00:00:23.742 --> 00:00:27.290 and a lot of different titles were kicked around and were discussed, 00:00:27.291 --> 00:00:30.682 but nobody suggested this one that you see here today. 00:00:30.683 --> 00:00:33.574 The reason for that was, two months ago, 00:00:33.575 --> 00:00:36.844 Ebola was escalating exponentially 00:00:36.845 --> 00:00:41.009 and spreading over wider geographic areas than we had ever seen 00:00:41.010 --> 00:00:45.486 and the world was terrified, concerned, and alarmed by this disease 00:00:45.487 --> 00:00:49.074 in a way we've not seen in recent history. 00:00:49.075 --> 00:00:55.374 But today, I can stand here and I can talk to you about beating Ebola 00:00:55.382 --> 00:00:58.942 because of people whom you've never heard of, 00:00:58.943 --> 00:01:01.656 people like Peter Clement, 00:01:04.691 --> 00:01:09.101 a Liberian doctor, who's working in Lofa County, 00:01:09.102 --> 00:01:14.269 a place that many of you have never heard of, probably, in Liberia. 00:01:15.736 --> 00:01:18.434 The reason that Lofa County is so important 00:01:18.435 --> 00:01:20.614 is because about five months ago, 00:01:20.615 --> 00:01:25.094 when the epidemic was just starting to escalate, 00:01:25.095 --> 00:01:30.215 Lofa County was right at the center, the epicenter of this epidemic. 00:01:30.216 --> 00:01:33.741 At that time, MSF and the treatment center there, 00:01:33.742 --> 00:01:36.303 were seeing dozens of patients every single day, 00:01:36.304 --> 00:01:40.645 and these patients, these communities, were becoming more and more terrified 00:01:40.646 --> 00:01:45.041 as time went by, with this disease and what it was doing to their families, 00:01:45.042 --> 00:01:48.728 to their communities, to their children, to their relatives. 00:01:48.729 --> 00:01:53.606 And so Peter Clement was charged with driving that 12-hour-long rough road 00:01:53.607 --> 00:01:57.105 from Monrovia, the capital, up to Lofa County 00:01:57.106 --> 00:02:02.450 to try and help bring control to the escalating epidemic there. 00:02:02.451 --> 00:02:07.926 And what Peter found when he arrived was a terror that I just mentioned to you. 00:02:07.927 --> 00:02:12.059 So he sat down with the local chiefs, and he listened. 00:02:12.060 --> 00:02:16.064 And what he heard was heartbreaking. 00:02:16.065 --> 00:02:20.893 He heard about the devastation and the desperation of people 00:02:20.894 --> 00:02:23.016 affected by this disease. 00:02:23.017 --> 00:02:25.764 He heard the heartbreaking stories 00:02:25.765 --> 00:02:29.096 about not just the damage that Ebola did to people, 00:02:29.097 --> 00:02:32.266 but what it did to families, and what it did to communities. 00:02:33.156 --> 00:02:38.157 And he listened to the local chiefs there, and what they told him -- 00:02:38.158 --> 00:02:41.527 They said: "When our children are sick, when our children are dying, 00:02:41.528 --> 00:02:45.086 we can't hold them at a time when we want to be closest to them. 00:02:45.087 --> 00:02:49.811 When our relatives die, we can't take care of them as our tradition demands. 00:02:49.812 --> 00:02:52.380 We are not allowed to wash the bodies to bury them 00:02:52.381 --> 00:02:55.900 the way our communities and our rituals demand. 00:02:55.901 --> 00:02:57.123 And for this reason, 00:02:57.124 --> 00:02:59.516 they were deeply disturbed, deeply alarmed 00:02:59.517 --> 00:03:02.629 and the entire epidemic was unraveling in front of them. 00:03:02.630 --> 00:03:05.803 People were turning on the healthcare workers who had come, 00:03:05.804 --> 00:03:09.280 the heroes who come to try and help save the community, 00:03:09.281 --> 00:03:13.555 to help work with the community, and they were unable to access them. 00:03:14.574 --> 00:03:20.246 And what happened then was Peter explained to the leaders. 00:03:20.247 --> 00:03:22.997 The leaders listened. They turned the tables. 00:03:22.998 --> 00:03:26.763 And Peter explained what Ebola was. He explained what the disease was. 00:03:26.764 --> 00:03:29.012 He explained what it did to their communities, 00:03:29.013 --> 00:03:34.524 and he explained that Ebola threatened everything that made us human: 00:03:34.525 --> 00:03:38.336 Ebola means you can't hold your children the way you would in this situation, 00:03:38.337 --> 00:03:40.790 you can't bury your dead the way that you would, 00:03:40.791 --> 00:03:45.691 you have to trust these people in the space suits to do that for you. 00:03:45.692 --> 00:03:46.923 And ladies and gentlemen, 00:03:46.924 --> 00:03:49.105 what happened then was rather extraordinary: 00:03:49.106 --> 00:03:52.217 the community, health workers, and Peter sat down together 00:03:52.218 --> 00:03:56.716 and they put together a new plan for controlling Ebola in that Lofa County. 00:03:56.717 --> 00:04:00.374 And the reason that this is such an important story, 00:04:00.375 --> 00:04:01.942 ladies and gentlemen, 00:04:01.943 --> 00:04:04.611 is because today, this County, 00:04:04.612 --> 00:04:07.957 which is right at the center of this epidemic you've been watching, 00:04:07.958 --> 00:04:09.823 you've been seeing on the newspapers, 00:04:09.824 --> 00:04:13.329 you've been seeing on the television screens, 00:04:13.330 --> 00:04:19.115 today, Lofa County is nearly eight weeks without seeing a single case of Ebola. 00:04:19.116 --> 00:04:20.743 (Applause) 00:04:26.203 --> 00:04:29.953 This doesn't mean that the job is done, obviously; 00:04:29.954 --> 00:04:33.125 there's still a huge risk that there'll be additional cases there, 00:04:33.126 --> 00:04:36.410 but what it does teach us is that Ebola can be beaten. 00:04:36.411 --> 00:04:37.880 That's the key thing. 00:04:37.881 --> 00:04:39.130 Even on the scale, 00:04:39.131 --> 00:04:42.802 even with the rapid kind of growth that we saw in this environment here, 00:04:42.803 --> 00:04:46.768 we now know Ebola can be beaten. 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:50.597 When communities come together with healthcare workers, work together, 00:04:50.598 --> 00:04:53.250 that's when this disease can be stopped. 00:04:53.251 --> 00:04:57.025 But how did Ebola end up in Lofa County in the first place? 00:04:57.026 --> 00:05:01.435 Well, for that, we have to go back 12 months, to the start of this epidemic. 00:05:01.436 --> 00:05:05.008 And as many you know, this virus went undetected, 00:05:05.009 --> 00:05:08.879 it evaded detection for three or four months when it began. 00:05:08.880 --> 00:05:11.438 That's because this is not a disease of West Africa, 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.649 it's a disease of Central Africa, half a continent away. 00:05:14.650 --> 00:05:16.548 People hadn't seen the disease before; 00:05:16.549 --> 00:05:18.915 health workers hadn't seen the disease before. 00:05:18.916 --> 00:05:21.175 They didn't know what they were dealing with. 00:05:21.176 --> 00:05:23.098 And to make it even more complicated, 00:05:23.099 --> 00:05:27.548 the virus itself was causing a symptom, a type of a presentation 00:05:27.549 --> 00:05:30.146 that wasn't classical of the disease, 00:05:30.147 --> 00:05:34.390 so people didn't even recognize the disease, people who knew Ebola. 00:05:34.391 --> 00:05:38.167 For that reason it evaded detection for some time, 00:05:38.168 --> 00:05:41.294 but contrary to public belief sometimes these days, 00:05:41.295 --> 00:05:47.340 once the virus was detected, there was a rapid surge in of support. 00:05:47.341 --> 00:05:52.320 MSF rapidly set up an Ebola treatment center as many of you know, in the area. 00:05:52.321 --> 00:05:56.146 The World Health Organization and the partners it works with deployed 00:05:56.147 --> 00:05:58.985 eventually hundreds of people over the next two months 00:05:58.986 --> 00:06:01.459 to be able to help track the virus. 00:06:01.460 --> 00:06:03.563 The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is 00:06:03.564 --> 00:06:08.517 by then, this virus, well known now as Ebola, had spread too far. 00:06:08.518 --> 00:06:12.217 It had already outstripped what was one of the largest responses 00:06:12.218 --> 00:06:15.587 that had been mounted so far to an Ebola outbreak. 00:06:15.588 --> 00:06:17.187 By the middle of the year, 00:06:17.188 --> 00:06:22.328 not just Guinea but now Sierra Leone and Liberia were also infected. 00:06:22.329 --> 00:06:27.241 The virus was spreading geographically, the numbers were increasing, 00:06:27.242 --> 00:06:29.302 and at this time, 00:06:29.303 --> 00:06:33.743 not only were hundreds of people infected and dying of the disease 00:06:33.744 --> 00:06:34.946 but as importantly, 00:06:34.947 --> 00:06:38.507 the front line responders, the people who had gone to try and help, 00:06:38.508 --> 00:06:42.583 the healthcare workers, the other responders 00:06:42.584 --> 00:06:45.949 were also sick and dying by the dozens. 00:06:45.950 --> 00:06:48.926 The presidents of these countries recognized the emergencies. 00:06:48.927 --> 00:06:50.709 They met right around that time, 00:06:50.710 --> 00:06:53.272 they agreed on common action, and they put together 00:06:53.273 --> 00:06:56.485 an emergency joint operation center in Conakry 00:06:56.486 --> 00:07:00.992 to try and work together to finish this disease and get it stopped, 00:07:00.993 --> 00:07:03.701 to implement the strategies we talked about. 00:07:03.702 --> 00:07:07.851 But what happened then was something we had never seen before with Ebola. 00:07:07.852 --> 00:07:11.969 What happened then was the virus, or someone sick with the virus, 00:07:11.970 --> 00:07:15.239 boarded an airplane, flew to another country, 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:16.757 and for the first time, 00:07:16.758 --> 00:07:21.575 we saw in another distant country the virus pop up again. 00:07:21.576 --> 00:07:23.573 This time it was in Nigeria, 00:07:23.574 --> 00:07:28.149 in the teeming metropolis of Lagos, 21 million people; 00:07:28.150 --> 00:07:31.255 now the virus was in that environment. 00:07:31.256 --> 00:07:36.153 And as you can anticipate, there was international alarm, international concern 00:07:36.154 --> 00:07:38.513 on a scale that we haven't seen in recent years 00:07:38.514 --> 00:07:40.903 caused by a disease like this. 00:07:40.904 --> 00:07:45.484 The World Health Organization immediately called together an expert panel, 00:07:45.485 --> 00:07:49.362 looked at the situation, declared an international emergency. 00:07:49.363 --> 00:07:51.984 And in doing so, the expectation would be 00:07:51.985 --> 00:07:55.836 that there be a huge outpouring of international assistance 00:07:55.837 --> 00:08:00.998 to help these countries which were in so much trouble and concern at that time. 00:08:00.999 --> 00:08:04.221 But what we saw was something very different. 00:08:04.222 --> 00:08:08.029 There was some great response. 00:08:08.030 --> 00:08:12.401 A number of countries came to assist - many NGOs and others, as you know - 00:08:12.402 --> 00:08:15.812 but at the same time, the opposite happened in many places. 00:08:17.922 --> 00:08:20.438 Alarm escalated, and very soon, 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:22.505 these countries found themselves 00:08:22.506 --> 00:08:26.663 not receiving the support they needed but increasingly isolated. 00:08:26.664 --> 00:08:31.216 What we saw was commercial airlines [stopped] flying into these countries, 00:08:31.217 --> 00:08:34.046 and people who hadn't even been exposed to the virus 00:08:34.047 --> 00:08:36.212 were no longer allowed to travel. 00:08:36.212 --> 00:08:40.183 This caused not only problems, obviously, for the countries themselves 00:08:40.183 --> 00:08:42.023 but also for the response. 00:08:42.024 --> 00:08:44.879 Those organizations that we're trying to bring people in, 00:08:44.880 --> 00:08:47.370 to try and help them respond to the outbreak, 00:08:47.371 --> 00:08:49.091 could not get people on airplanes, 00:08:49.092 --> 00:08:52.354 couldn't get them into the countries to be able to respond. 00:08:52.355 --> 00:08:58.245 In that situation, ladies and gentleman, a virus like Ebola takes advantage. 00:08:58.246 --> 00:09:02.755 And what we saw then was something also we hadn't seen before: 00:09:02.756 --> 00:09:05.429 not only did this virus continue in the places 00:09:05.430 --> 00:09:09.492 where they'd already become infected but then it started to escalate 00:09:09.493 --> 00:09:11.875 and we saw the case numbers that you see here, 00:09:11.876 --> 00:09:14.862 something we never seen before on such a scale, 00:09:14.863 --> 00:09:17.791 and exponential increase of Ebola cases 00:09:17.792 --> 00:09:22.302 not just in these countries or the areas already infected in these countries 00:09:22.303 --> 00:09:26.017 but also spreading further and deeper into these countries. 00:09:26.018 --> 00:09:27.334 Ladies and gentleman, 00:09:27.335 --> 00:09:33.010 this was one of the most concerning, international emergencies in public health 00:09:33.011 --> 00:09:34.446 we've ever seen. 00:09:34.447 --> 00:09:36.524 And what happened in these countries then, 00:09:36.525 --> 00:09:40.364 many of you saw, again, on the television, read about in the newspapers, 00:09:40.365 --> 00:09:45.896 we saw the health system start to collapse under the weight of this epidemic. 00:09:45.897 --> 00:09:48.719 We saw the schools begin to close, 00:09:50.736 --> 00:09:54.415 markets no longer functioned the way that they should in these countries. 00:09:54.416 --> 00:09:58.382 We saw the misinformation, the misperceptions, started to spread 00:09:58.383 --> 00:10:00.340 even faster through the communities 00:10:00.341 --> 00:10:03.060 which became even more alarmed about the situation. 00:10:03.061 --> 00:10:04.430 They started to recoil 00:10:04.431 --> 00:10:07.900 from those people that you saw in those space suits, as they call them, 00:10:07.901 --> 00:10:09.680 who had come to help them. 00:10:09.681 --> 00:10:12.412 And then the situation deteriorated even further: 00:10:12.413 --> 00:10:15.030 the countries had to declare a state of emergency, 00:10:15.031 --> 00:10:20.790 large populations need to be quarantined in some areas, and then riots broke out. 00:10:20.791 --> 00:10:24.455 It was a very, very terrifying situation. 00:10:24.456 --> 00:10:27.093 And the world, many people began to ask: 00:10:27.094 --> 00:10:31.083 "Can we ever stop Ebola when it starts to spread like this?" 00:10:31.084 --> 00:10:35.584 And they started to ask: "How well do we really know this virus?" 00:10:35.585 --> 00:10:38.961 The reality is we don't know Ebola extremely well. 00:10:38.962 --> 00:10:42.804 It's a relatively modern disease in terms of what we know about it 00:10:42.805 --> 00:10:45.171 we've known the disease only for 40 years 00:10:45.172 --> 00:10:48.994 since it first popped up in Central Africa in 1976. 00:10:48.995 --> 00:10:52.444 But despite that, we do know many things: 00:10:52.445 --> 00:10:55.804 we know that this virus probably survives in a type of a bat, 00:10:55.805 --> 00:10:59.204 we know that it probably enters a human population 00:10:59.209 --> 00:11:01.994 when we come in contact with a wild animal 00:11:01.995 --> 00:11:05.495 that has been infected with the virus and probably sickened by it. 00:11:05.498 --> 00:11:08.503 Then we know that the virus spreads from person to person 00:11:08.504 --> 00:11:10.964 through contaminated body fluids. 00:11:10.968 --> 00:11:12.144 And as you've all seen, 00:11:12.145 --> 00:11:15.437 we know the horrific disease that it then causes in humans, 00:11:15.438 --> 00:11:20.284 where we see this disease caused severe fevers, diarrhea, vomiting, 00:11:20.285 --> 00:11:26.376 and then, unfortunately, and in 70% of the cases or often more, death. 00:11:26.377 --> 00:11:32.136 This is a very dangerous, debilitating, and deadly disease. 00:11:32.137 --> 00:11:36.475 But despite the fact that we've not known this disease for a particularly long time, 00:11:36.476 --> 00:11:40.905 and we don't know everything about it, we do know how to stop this disease. 00:11:40.906 --> 00:11:44.899 There are four things that are critical to stopping Ebola. 00:11:44.900 --> 00:11:48.910 First and foremost, the communities have got to understand this disease, 00:11:48.911 --> 00:11:52.599 they've got to understand how it spreads and how to stop it. 00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:54.896 And then we've got to be able to have systems 00:11:54.897 --> 00:11:58.666 that could find every single case, every contact of those cases, 00:11:58.667 --> 00:12:02.956 and begin to track the transmission chain so that you can stop transmission. 00:12:02.957 --> 00:12:06.576 We have to have treatment centers, specialized Ebola treatment centers, 00:12:06.577 --> 00:12:08.774 where the workers can be protected 00:12:08.775 --> 00:12:13.623 as they try to provide support to the people who are infected, 00:12:13.624 --> 00:12:16.212 so that they might survive the disease 00:12:16.213 --> 00:12:18.689 And then, for those who do die, 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:23.929 we have to ensure there is a safe but at the same time dignified burial process, 00:12:23.930 --> 00:12:28.235 so that there is no spread at that time as well. 00:12:28.236 --> 00:12:31.524 So we do know how to stop Ebola, 00:12:31.525 --> 00:12:33.793 and these strategies work, ladies and gentlemen. 00:12:33.794 --> 00:12:37.062 The virus was stopped in Nigeria by these four strategies, 00:12:37.063 --> 00:12:39.599 and the people implementing them, obviously. 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.259 It was stopped in Senegal where it had spread, 00:12:42.260 --> 00:12:44.079 and also in the other countries 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.159 that were affected by this virus, in this outbreak. 00:12:47.160 --> 00:12:51.345 So there's no question that these strategies actually work. 00:12:51.346 --> 00:12:53.459 The big question, ladies and gentlemen, 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:59.293 was whether these strategies could work on this scale, in this situation, 00:12:59.294 --> 00:13:04.337 with so many countries affected with the exponential growth that you saw. 00:13:04.338 --> 00:13:09.110 That was the big question that we were facing just two for three months ago. 00:13:09.111 --> 00:13:13.135 Today, we know the answer to that question. 00:13:13.136 --> 00:13:16.515 We know that answer because of the extraordinary work 00:13:16.516 --> 00:13:21.004 of an incredible group of NGOs, of governments, of local leaders, 00:13:21.005 --> 00:13:25.195 of UN agencies, and many humanitarian and other organizations 00:13:25.197 --> 00:13:29.716 that came and joined the fight to try and stop Ebola in West Africa. 00:13:29.717 --> 00:13:32.669 But what had to be done there was slightly different. 00:13:32.680 --> 00:13:35.767 These countries took those strategies I just showed you; 00:13:35.768 --> 00:13:40.567 the communities, the community engagement, the case finding and contact tracing, 00:13:40.568 --> 00:13:43.044 and they turn them on their head. 00:13:43.045 --> 00:13:45.877 There was so much disease, they approached it differently. 00:13:45.878 --> 00:13:48.263 What they decided to do was 00:13:48.264 --> 00:13:51.609 they would first try and slow down this epidemic 00:13:51.610 --> 00:13:54.025 by rapidly building as many beds as possible 00:13:54.026 --> 00:13:56.261 in specialized treatment centers, 00:13:56.262 --> 00:14:01.608 so that they could prevent the disease from spreading from those were infected. 00:14:01.609 --> 00:14:04.446 They would rapidly build out many many burial teams 00:14:04.447 --> 00:14:06.480 so they could safely deal with the dead, 00:14:06.481 --> 00:14:09.308 and with that, they would try and slow this outbreak to see 00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:11.354 if it could actually then be controlled 00:14:11.355 --> 00:14:15.890 using the classic approach of case finding and contact tracing. 00:14:15.891 --> 00:14:20.347 And when I went to West Africa about three months ago, when I was there, 00:14:20.348 --> 00:14:22.358 what I saw was extraordinary. 00:14:22.370 --> 00:14:23.482 I saw presidents 00:14:23.483 --> 00:14:27.025 opening emergency operation centers themselves against Ebola 00:14:27.026 --> 00:14:30.672 so that they could personally coordinate, and oversee, and champion 00:14:30.673 --> 00:14:34.562 this surge of international support to try and stop this disease. 00:14:34.563 --> 00:14:35.953 We saw militaries 00:14:35.954 --> 00:14:38.544 from within those countries and from far beyond, 00:14:38.545 --> 00:14:41.136 coming in to help build Ebola treatment centers 00:14:41.137 --> 00:14:44.600 that could be used to isolate those who are sick. 00:14:49.302 --> 00:14:54.549 to help train the community so that they could actually safely bury their dead 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:46.590 We saw the Red Cross Movement 00:14:46.591 --> 00:14:49.302 working with its partner agencies on the ground there 00:14:54.549 --> 00:14:57.062 in a dignified manner themselves. 00:14:57.063 --> 00:14:59.696 And we saw the UN agencies, the World Food Program, 00:14:59.697 --> 00:15:02.681 build a tremendous air bridge that could get responders 00:15:02.682 --> 00:15:05.708 to every single corner of these countries rapidly 00:15:05.709 --> 00:15:09.448 to be able to implement the strategies that we just talked about. 00:15:09.449 --> 00:15:12.921 What we saw, ladies and gentlemen, which is probably most impressive, 00:15:12.922 --> 00:15:15.991 was this incredible work by the governments, 00:15:15.992 --> 00:15:19.061 by the leaders in these countries, with the communities, 00:15:19.062 --> 00:15:21.725 to try insure people understood this disease, 00:15:21.726 --> 00:15:27.275 understood the extraordinary things they'd have to do to try and stop Ebola. 00:15:27.276 --> 00:15:29.287 And as a result, ladies and gentlemen, 00:15:29.288 --> 00:15:34.129 we saw something that we did not know only two or three months earlier, 00:15:34.130 --> 00:15:36.441 whether or not it would be possible. 00:15:36.442 --> 00:15:37.796 What we saw was 00:15:37.797 --> 00:15:42.401 what you see now in this graph when we took stock on December 1. 00:15:42.402 --> 00:15:45.906 What we saw was we could bend that curve, so to speak, 00:15:45.907 --> 00:15:48.092 change this exponential growth, 00:15:48.093 --> 00:15:52.002 and bring some hope back to the ability to control this outbreak. 00:15:52.003 --> 00:15:56.282 And for this reason, ladies and gentlemen, there's absolutely no question now 00:15:56.283 --> 00:16:02.329 that we can catch up with this outbreak in West Africa, and we can beat Ebola. 00:16:02.330 --> 00:16:06.001 The big question though, that many people are asking, 00:16:06.002 --> 00:16:07.733 even when they saw this curve, [is]: 00:16:07.734 --> 00:16:10.557 "Well, hang on a minute; that's great, you can slow it down, 00:16:10.558 --> 00:16:12.960 but can you actually drive it down to zero?" 00:16:12.961 --> 00:16:16.822 We've already answered that question right back at the beginning of this talk, 00:16:16.823 --> 00:16:22.602 when I spoke about Lofa County in Liberia. 00:16:22.603 --> 00:16:26.162 We told you the story how Lofa County got to a situation 00:16:26.163 --> 00:16:29.115 where they have not seen Ebola for eight weeks. 00:16:29.116 --> 00:16:32.495 But there are similar stories from the other countries as well. 00:16:32.496 --> 00:16:34.841 From Guéckédou in Guinea, 00:16:34.842 --> 00:16:39.127 the first area where the first case was actually diagnosed. 00:16:39.128 --> 00:16:43.863 We've seen very, very few cases in the last couple of months, 00:16:43.864 --> 00:16:48.384 and here in Kenema, in Sierra Leone - another area in the epicenter - 00:16:48.385 --> 00:16:51.885 we have not seen the virus for more than a couple of weeks. 00:16:51.886 --> 00:16:55.008 Way too early to declare victory, obviously, 00:16:55.009 --> 00:16:56.726 but evidence, ladies and gentlemen, 00:16:56.727 --> 00:17:00.274 not only can the response catch up to the disease 00:17:00.275 --> 00:17:03.250 but this disease can be driven to zero. 00:17:03.251 --> 00:17:07.465 The challenge now, of course, is doing this on the scale needed 00:17:07.467 --> 00:17:12.862 right across these three countries, and that is a huge challenge. 00:17:12.863 --> 00:17:17.544 Because when you've been at something for this long, on this scale, 00:17:17.545 --> 00:17:21.844 two other big threats come in to join the virus. 00:17:21.845 --> 00:17:24.691 The first of those is complacency, 00:17:24.692 --> 00:17:27.810 the risk that as this disease curve starts to bend, 00:17:27.810 --> 00:17:31.330 the media look elsewhere, the world looks elsewhere. 00:17:31.331 --> 00:17:32.921 Complacency's always a risk. 00:17:32.922 --> 00:17:36.158 And the other risk, of course, is when you've been working so hard 00:17:36.159 --> 00:17:40.386 for so long and slept so few hours over the past months, 00:17:40.387 --> 00:17:43.086 people are tired, people become fatigued, 00:17:43.087 --> 00:17:47.058 and these new risks start to creep into the response. 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:51.529 Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you today I've just come back from West Africa. 00:17:51.530 --> 00:17:55.186 The people of this countries, the leaders of these countries, 00:17:55.187 --> 00:17:56.963 are not complacent. 00:17:56.964 --> 00:18:00.602 They want to drive Ebola to zero in their countries. 00:18:00.603 --> 00:18:03.903 And these people, yes they're tired, but they are not fatigued. 00:18:03.913 --> 00:18:06.579 They have an energy, they have a courage, 00:18:06.580 --> 00:18:09.157 they have the strength to get this finished. 00:18:09.157 --> 00:18:11.649 What they need, ladies and gentlemen, at this point, 00:18:11.650 --> 00:18:15.339 is the unwavering support of the international community, 00:18:15.340 --> 00:18:17.548 to stand with them, to bolster, 00:18:17.549 --> 00:18:21.307 and bring even more support at this time, to get the job finished. 00:18:21.308 --> 00:18:24.590 Because finishing Ebola right now means 00:18:24.591 --> 00:18:28.362 turning the tables on this virus and beginning to hunt it. 00:18:28.363 --> 00:18:33.634 Remember, this virus, this whole crisis, rather, started with one case, 00:18:33.635 --> 00:18:36.423 and is going to finish with one case. 00:18:36.424 --> 00:18:40.675 But it will only finish if those countries have got enough epidemiologists, 00:18:40.676 --> 00:18:45.055 enough health workers, enough logisticians and enough other people working with them 00:18:45.056 --> 00:18:49.155 to be able to find every one of those cases, track their contacts, 00:18:49.156 --> 00:18:52.783 and make sure that this disease stops once and for all. 00:18:52.784 --> 00:18:54.700 I can tell you just having come back, 00:18:54.701 --> 00:18:57.901 they are not complacent, they are not fatigued, 00:18:57.902 --> 00:19:01.982 and they will finish the job, if they have the support that they need. 00:19:01.983 --> 00:19:04.835 Ladies and gentlemen, you know the story of Ebola, 00:19:04.836 --> 00:19:08.679 we just told you the story of Ebola, Ebola can be beaten. 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.560 Now, we need you to take this story out 00:19:11.561 --> 00:19:13.591 to tell it to the people who will listen 00:19:13.592 --> 00:19:16.574 and educate them on what it means to beat Ebola, 00:19:16.575 --> 00:19:20.165 and more importantly, we need you to advocate with the people 00:19:20.166 --> 00:19:23.716 who can help us bring the resources we need to these countries, 00:19:23.717 --> 00:19:25.614 to beat this disease. 00:19:25.615 --> 00:19:26.992 Ladies and gentleman, 00:19:26.993 --> 00:19:30.840 there are a lot of people out there who will survive and will thrive 00:19:30.841 --> 00:19:34.329 in part because of what you do to help us beat Ebola. 00:19:34.330 --> 00:19:35.491 Thank you. 00:19:35.492 --> 00:19:36.521 (Applause)