ERIC WESTERVELT, HOST:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Eric Westervelt. The Ebola virus continues its deadly spread in West Africa. New cases of the disease are up in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and new cases in Liberia in recent weeks mark a setback after recent improvements. The World Health Organization now estimates that Ebola has infected more than 20,000 people in these three countries and nearly 8,000 people so far have died. Joining us now is Tony Banbury, the United Nations' outgoing top Ebola official. He leads the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and has just completed his final tour of the Ebola-affected region. Tony, thanks for being here.
ANTHONY BANBURY: It's my pleasure. Thank you.
WESTERVELT: We're seeing new cases pop up in Liberia, a country that had previously made progress against the virus. How do you fight complacency in populations that might now be tuning out after months of being bombarded with public service warnings?
BANBURY: I just returned from a six-day tour of the three countries and was able to meet with the heads of state, but also travel into remote areas, and I did not see signs of complacency. I saw signs of strong commitment. And in Liberia, yes, there have been new cases, but just on December 31, the country reported zero new cases that day. So clearly, things are headed in the right direction.
WESTERVELT: How worried are you that Ebola could become endemic to West Africa, that these countries just may have to learn to live with this brutal hemorrhagic fever?
BANBURY: I'm not a scientist, but in my view, that's not an option. The only option is getting to zero cases and so there's no more presence of Ebola in humans. Ebola has just ripped apart communities and families and caused such huge, intangible damage of a social and psychological nature, as well as the human toll. And we have a very big obligation to get rid of Ebola completely so these communities can go about with the lives they had, and on the paths of development that they were enjoying before Ebola struck.
WESTERVELT: For months the worst-affected country was Liberia. Now it's Sierra Leone. But far less is heard about Guinea, where a group of health workers were killed earlier this year as they tried to distribute information about the disease. There's word now of ongoing attacks on health workers. Is Guinea the weak link among these three neighbors battling Ebola?
BANBURY: The disease of Ebola, the crisis we're facing, is a regional one. So we really need to solve it everywhere. That being said, we're facing particularly difficult challenges in Guinea due to the strong resistance, particularly in very rural areas, resistance to the idea that Ebola's real, that it's a disease that should be treated, resistance to efforts at community engagement. And if we're not more successful in our work with the communities in Guinea then we're going to have a tough time getting the crisis to where we need to. But I'm confident that we're going to get there. We're making progress in Guinea, but not as fast as we'd like.
WESTERVELT: As you leave, what are some of your most lasting memories of your time on the ground there?
BANBURY: One is from a visit I just made to the three countries. And in the town of Sanniquellie in Liberia, I met with some survivors, including a 10-year-old girl named Esther. She just had such a sparkle and sense of life about her, and she was really inspiring. And it was just so great that she had survived. It made me really, again, understand how important this work was and that we had to bring the disease down to zero so that there were no more Esthers getting it and that the communities could have a life without fear of Ebola ripping their families apart.
WESTERVELT: Tony Banbury is the outgoing head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. He joined us from the mission's headquarters in Accra, Ghana. Thank you so much.
BANBURY: Thank you.