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UN chief, British PM agree on need to aid Ebola-hit countries

24 September 2014 03:19 (UTC +04:00)

Ban and Cameroon, during a meeting here, "agreed on the need for the international community to take urgent and significant steps to counter the Ebola virus and help the countries most affected," Ban's spokesman told reporters here.

The World Health Organization published its revised estimates of the outbreak Tuesday, predicting more than 20,000 cases by Nov. 2 unless control measures are enhanced quickly.

As of Sept. 19, the total number of cases attributed to Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has reached 5,843, including 2,803 deaths.

The UN chief and Cameroon met on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change, which opened here earlier Tuesday and attracted more than 120 heads of state or government.

"They discussed climate change and the need for all major world actors to agree on what needs to be done," the spokesman said.

"On the Middle East, the secretary-general said it was imperative to reconstruct Gaza, but it must not then be destroyed again," the spokesman said. "The parties needed to sit down and address the root causes, including the occupation and security concerns."

Meanwhile, the secretary-general conveyed his appreciation for the United Kingdom's leadership role on Somalia and said he counted on its continued support on Yemen, the spokesman said.

"The two leaders also discussed the pressing ISIL threat in Syria and Iraq," the spokesman said, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Iraq is facing an insurgency by the jihadist group ISIL, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State (IS), which has forced thousands of people mainly from minority communities to flee their homes.

The group, whose fighters had seized vast swaths of territory in northern Iraq since June and announced the establishment of a caliphate in areas under its control in Syria and Iraq, has released videos showing the beheadings of two American journalists and a British aid worker.

Also at the meeting, the secretary-general briefed the prime minister on the progress toward a post-2015 development agenda, and thanked the United Kingdom for its valuable contribution to the process, the spokesman added.

The post-2015 development agenda is under discussion at the United Nations as to how to promote sustainable development in the world after the year of 2015, the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight anti-poverty targets.