DWB rebukes Australia for pledging cash instead of medics in Ebola fight

Australia was hit with a sharp rebuke from the medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (DWB, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières) over what it views as its tepid response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

Reacting to the government’s announcement on Thursday that it would be donating an additional $8.8 million (bringing its total contribution $15.8 million) to the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, but not any medical personnel, DWB said “Australia must stop making excuses to join the fight against Ebola.”

“Countries like Australia with the capacity to make a real difference on the ground are looking at each other to take responsibility, and are refusing to send their own personnel to help,” DWB Australia’s executive director, Paul McPhun, said in a statement on the organization’s website. 

The press release by the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlining its donation seemed to contain pre-emptive reasoning to deflect any criticism about its continued decision to not contribute medical personnel and equipment.

"The government has assessed that, at this stage, financial contributions are the best and most efficient way Australia can make a rapid contribution to the global response and support front line health services in the affected countries," the release read.

The statement also went on to say, "The Australian Government has very limited capacity to provide consular assistance in [the affected] countries, and does not have the capacity to evacuate Australians with Ebola from West Africa to Australia at this time."

Last week Australia Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters, "The Australian government is not about to risk the health of Australian workers in the absence of credible evacuation plans that could bring our people back to Australia."

DWB, meanwhile, rejected a reported $2.2 million donation in September from the Australian government, saying that emergency medical personnel, equipment and logistical support were more urgent that monetary resources.

“We have told the government that donating to organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières is not the best way for governments to meet the immediate needs,” McPhun said last month. “It is unacceptable that as a single private NGO, Médecins Sans Frontières is providing the bulk of isolation units and beds. Our teams have been overwhelmed for some time now, and are forced to turn away patients that are highly infectious.”

Ebola has now infected more than 7,000 people in West Africa, with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea being the hardest hit. More than 3,300 people have died as a result of the outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.

While DWB told Al Jazeera that Australians have been involved the Ebola fight in West Africa in their personal capacity, it has appealed to Australia to send medical personnel, saying the “Australian deployment of even a small number of trained staff would have a very significant impact.”

“Even a dozen trained staff who could oversee local teams to manage an isolation center, help case finding and outbreak control measures would save thousands of lives today,” it said.