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SBY to initiate int'l meeting on Ebola
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed to fulfill the request of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general, Iyad Ameen Madani, to initiate a meeting of health ministers from the organizationâs member countries to discuss Ebola
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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed to fulfill the request of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general, Iyad Ameen Madani, to initiate a meeting of health ministers from the organization's member countries to discuss Ebola.
'The OIC secretary-general has conveyed his hopes that Indonesia can initiate a meeting of health ministers from OIC-member countries to discuss Ebola ['¦] The illness has affected mostly OIC member countries,' Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said, as quoted by Antara news agency in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday.
He was speaking after accompanying Yudhoyono to a meeting with the OIC secretary-general on the sidelines of the 6th UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum.
Marty said Indonesia's position as chair of the OIC Health Ministers High Level Meeting was one of the supporting factors to initiate such a conference; thus, the President asked the OIC secretary-general to follow up with the relevant ministers.
He said Indonesia had continued to adhere to warnings released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and international world organizations to anticipate the spread of Ebola.
According to WHO, Ebola spreads via contact with blood and/or the bodily fluids of a person who has contracted the viral disease, not by direct contact with air or food.
On Aug. 8, WHO declared Ebola a public health emergency of international concern (PHE IC) as it had killed more than 1,000 people in a relatively short period of time.
WHO said this week that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa had taken the lives of many health workers. More than 240 health workers from a number of countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, had been affected by the illness, 120 of whom had died.
Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi on Monday confirmed that there had been no Ebola cases in Indonesia; however, people should remain alert. (alz/ebf)
