Has the Ebola crisis in West Africa reached a tipping point?

As the virus’ death toll approaches 2,500, world leaders are calling it a catastrophe

September 17, 2014 12:00PM ET

by Inside Story Team @AJInsideStoryAM

The three West African countries hardest hit by Ebola — Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone — are desperately struggling to contain the virus with their poor infrastructure and limited resources.

"Here’s the hard truth," U.S. President Barack Obama said at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Tuesday. "In West Africa, Ebola is now an epidemic of the likes that we have not seen before. It’s spiraling out of control."

Obama announced his intention to send 3,000 U.S. troops to help in the response. Those troops will include engineers to build more treatment centers and provide an additional 1,000 beds and a high-ranking general to establish a military command center in Liberia, helping to direct response teams on the ground.

The U.S. military will send medical workers and aid to the region more quickly, including more personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service and USAID to give out supplies and information kits.

"This is an epidemic that is not just a threat to regional security," said Obama. "It’s a potential threat to global security if these countries break down, if their economies break down, if people panic. That has profound effects on all of us, even if we are not directly contracting the disease."

The World Health Organization estimates 2,500 people have died from Ebola since March, out of an estimated 5,000 cases.

On the same day as the president’s announcement, the World Health Organization said that close to $1 billion is needed to stop Ebola’s spread.

"Because of the way in which the outbreak is advancing, the level of surge we need to do is unprecedented. It is massive,” said David Nabarro, the U.N.'s senior coordinator for Ebola.

The World Bank warned on Wednesday that the region could see an economic catastrophe if the international community does not ramp up its response.

Obama’s pledge came as a relief to many international and national response teams working in the hot zone. Many local treatment centers are filling up as soon as they open.

How will West Africa's fragile post-conflict states recover from the Ebola outbreak?

What are the challenges in informing a poorly educated population about a disease that has never struck in West Africa before?

Will the presence of the U.S. military improve the situation?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.