Ebola is a word we are all familiar with. For over a year we have heard stories of the deadly virus which is prevalent in certain parts of Africa. Even last week the news that a British citizen had again contracted the virus made national headlines.
While critics of Israel try to use every opportunity to vilify the Jewish State, Israel continues its efforts to make the world a better place. One of the ways it is doing this is in the fight against Ebola.
Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic fever which has a high risk of death, killing around half of those affected. It was first discovered in 1976, and the recent outbreak has been one experts had feared for some time.
Israeli virologists have been working on a cure for the Ebola virus for a number of years before the current outbreak, and while a cure is still not available, they are at the forefront of finding a cure.
Israeli company, CollPlant, is a world leader in ’synthetic biology’, making breakthroughs which lead the way for other companies to follow. This same tech is being used by American companies to produce the current treatments for Ebola.
In 2014, Dr. David Navarro, Special UN Envoy for Ebola said that Israel’s contributions to the UN’s ‘Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund” (MPTF) put Israel as the 6th largest contributor to fighting Ebola, and the first per capita.
While Israel has donated more per capita than any other country, we Brits should be equally proud of our country’s contribution to the fight against Ebola. The United Kingdom has donated more money in total than any other nation – by more than double the amount given by second place Sweden.
Last week, Osman Keh Kamara, the ambassador of Sierra Leone, one of the countries worst hit by the Ebola virus, was in Israel. And with him he brought good news. This Sunday (7th November), the World Health Organisation is scheduled to declare that Sierra Leone is Ebola free!
This is in part thanks to the contributions of Israel and Britain. Israel, for example, gave Sierra Leone its first ever dialysis machine in the country, a gift that Kamara thanked Israel for, as well as for Israel’s support in fighting the disease.
Mr Kamara also said that his country was grateful for all the scholarships Israel had made available to students from Sierra Leone so they could study various fields of technology.
This is yet again another example of Israel being a light to the nations and is contributing its innovations, expertise and resources to make the world a better place.
Christians United for Israel UK