Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2014-09-17-Speech-3-322-000"
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"en.20140917.26.3-322-000"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the Commission and the Council for coming here today and telling us about the steps being taken this week. It is a critical week now for tackling this problem. Mr Stier mentioned the World Health Organisation figures of 20 000 dying before the end of the year. But that is if we do something. They are saying it will be much higher if we do not do something. So we really have to step up our act.
There was the meeting on Monday; I very much welcome what happened on Monday in Brussels and the announcement by the US President that the United States is going to take part in this global effort to combat Ebola. But I think we need to reflect: we need short-term measures. We have to get the emergency under control but, once that is done, we need to reflect on the long term. It is pretty clear that we have all been slow off the mark, and we need to be asking ourselves: why is it that this epidemic is far more serious than ever before? Why have more people died in this epidemic than have died since the disease was first identified about forty years ago?
Why is it that vaccines and treatments have been looked at for many years but we have not had the results we need? How do we make sure that this time we do the research and continue it when the headlines disappear, when hopefully we get the disease under control? A trial started today in the United Kingdom, and we hope that clinical trial will lead to a vaccine.
Finally, I want to pay tribute, as the Council did, to the health workers and professionals on the ground from our Member States in particular who are going in, but also health workers from across Africa and across the globe. They are very brave people; they have gone in under very difficult conditions. As the Commissioner said, we need to strengthen the health systems in those countries and, if we make that commitment to strengthen them, it is a good investment for European citizens, because ultimately it will protect us at home as well. So the short term is under control, but we need long-term reflection."@en1
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