WASHINGTON — Despite criticism from aid groups that the U.S. government was slow to respond to the Ebola outbreak in Africa, philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates said Monday he is “quite impressed” with U.S. efforts to fight the disease.
Congress has showed “phenomenal generosity” with overseas health aid, Gates said during a conversation hosted by Politico.
“Thanks for the kind compliment about Congress,” former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut said from the audience. “You might be the only person who thinks that.”
The U.S. Agency for International Development has pledged more than $175 million to combating Ebola as of mid-September, which will be used to send more than 120 disease control specialists to West Africa and supply USAID with protection kits and trained health workers.
But aid workers who are already on the ground say the dramatic surge of assistance has come too late.
“Right now, as I speak, people are sitting at the gates of our centers, literally begging for their lives,” said Liberian Doctors Without Borders physician’s assistant Jackson Niamah in a recent address to the UN Security Council. “They rightly feel alone, neglected, denied –left to die a horrible, undignified death.”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $50 million, its largest single donation to a humanitarian cause yet. Aside from treating those already infected with Ebola, the foundation has identified flexible emergency funding as a critical area of need.
“The tragedy here is not only the Ebola deaths but also civil unrest,” Gates said. “What happens when people are panicking about an epidemic is that the entire health system shuts down. So more people will die of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and not having hospital services for delivery.”
Health experts agree with Gates’ assessment that the focus must go beyond Ebola to the health care infrastructure in the affected nations.
“You can see that Ebola has overwhelmed health care systems that were already straining to meet other needs,” said Dr. Shannon Galvin, director of clinical programs and training for the Center for Global Health at Northwestern University.
“Though donors often donate money based on their perceived needs, it’s important to offer as much flexibility as possible to our partners in other countries so that they can use the funds as they best see fit.”
Despite continued relief efforts, the Ebola epidemic is picking up speed in West Africa. According to the World Health Organization, the death toll has risen to at least 3,091 out of 6,574 probable, suspected and confirmed cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned last week that any further delays would be devastating. Without a more proactive and sustained international response, they predict that 1.4 million people could be infected by January.
Though acknowledging that the epidemic will not subside anytime soon, Gates cautiously predicted that health infrastructure to play a pivotal role in combating the epidemic will be locked down in the “next 30 days”. He said such infrastructure would not only prevent deaths but ensure that “kids can grow up in a healthy way.”
Gates also emphasized throughout the conversation that his foundation was but one contributor to the fight against Ebola.
“These issues are central to us, but the key actors are the U.S. and the investments that this country has made in a bipartisan way, and has literally stood by for decades.
