Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Huron—Bruce.
I am pleased to address the House today on this critically important issue.
Canada is fortunate to be among the countries that remain free of Ebola. As a country, we have been at the forefront of the international response efforts in West Africa. There are overwhelming reasons to help the countries that are not as fortunate as our own. It is also very clear that by helping our Ebola-affected West African partners, the government is also further safeguarding the health and safety of Canadians.
As members know, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is unprecedented in its scale, geographic reach and humanitarian impact, as well as social and economic impact which will be felt for a long time to come. The developing world is ill-equipped to manage a health emergency of this kind. The crisis is evolving in a context of chronic fragility in places of high poverty and after decades of conflict and civil strife.
While there are no confirmed cases of Ebola in Canada, Canada must be prepared for a case to come here. Provincial and local health officials are the lead on any Ebola case in Canada, but the Public Health Agency of Canada continues to assist them to ensure that they remain prepared.
The increase in the number of cases continues to accelerate, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where weak health care systems are ineffective in controlling the spread of the virus and treating those who are infected. People are dying of Ebola, but they are also dying of other health problems, such as malaria because they do not have access to the basic services they need. It has become nearly impossible to keep up with the growing medical needs of populations that grow sicker by the day.
In addition to the health burden, the disease and efforts to contain it have disrupted trade and the rain-fed agricultural season, both primary livelihood sources in the region. The Ebola virus is reversing hard-won progress after difficult chapters in the history of some of the affected countries and keeping people from supporting themselves and their families.
According to the World Health Organization, as of October 17, there have been more than 9,211 cases of Ebola and more than 4,554 deaths from the disease reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
I would like to acknowledge the valiant work of West African countries, many of whose health care workers have tragically died as they worked to contain this outbreak. As of October 14, Ebola had affected 423 health care workers, killing 239 of them. The World Health Organization has warned that there could be 5,000 to 10,000 new Ebola cases per week by December of this year if the international community fails to act.
Right now, this outbreak has the world's attention and deservedly so. There are very sound reasons to treat this situation with great urgency and seriousness. However, if history has taught us anything, it is that few challenges cannot be overcome by the determination and resources of a united and committed global community. In the face of an unprecedented challenge, the world is capable of unprecedented action.
We know what needs to be done and the tools exist to do it. We are at a turning point where it is critical to respond to the rallying cry for help if we hope to contain this devastating disease and treat those who have been affected.
I have been very proud to see that Canada has been at the forefront of the international response to this outbreak. We have committed over $65 million to the United Nations and others to improve treatment and prevention, improve health capacity to save lives and support basics such as nutrition. We need to combat the disease as well as the fear and ignorance that surround it if we are to be successful.
On September 18, the United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola outbreak to be a threat to peace and security in West Africa. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged last month, this has become more than a health issue; it is now a social and economic one as well, with regional implications.
As a result, the UN announced the deployment of a new Ebola emergency health mission to bring together the full range of UN actors and expertise in order to support national efforts in affected countries. UNMEER is the first-ever UN emergency health mission set up in response to the unprecedented outbreak.
The United Nations and the World Health Organization have declared the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in West Africa both a public health emergency and a complex crisis requiring a range of measures. With our recent announcement, Canada is among the key donors to the Ebola crisis response. Canada recognized early the risks that this Ebola outbreak represents and has already made significant contributions in support of humanitarian and security interventions to help contain its spread.
Ours is a whole of government approach which includes contributions from our embassies in affected regions, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Transport Canada. Canada's funding will support the international efforts to stop the outbreak, treat patients, ensure essential services, preserve stability and prevent outbreaks in surrounding, but as of yet, unaffected countries.
Up to $18 million of this new funding will go to the WHO and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to strengthen the medical response in Ebola-affected countries as well as assisting non-affected neighbouring countries. They will also help prepare local health structures in how to deal with people who have contracted Ebola.
Up to $13.5 million will be contributed to the World Food Programme and the UN Ebola multi-partner trust fund to meet critical gaps in the response as well as the logistics and transportation needs of responders.
Finally, up to $20.5 million will go to the UN and World Food Programme to provide health education to communities and improve access to basic services including food and water. This will provide a foundation for greater local engagement on the dispelling of fears surrounding the disease as well as expanding prevention and community care services for Ebola patients.
We are providing on the ground laboratory diagnostic support in Sierra Leone through the deployment of scientists from the Public Health Agency of Canada and also supporting experts to be sent through the Red Cross and UN operations.
In addition, Canada donated up to 1,000 doses of experimental vaccine developed in labs in Canada to the WHO, so that they can be made available as an international resource. The vials represent two-thirds of the total vials of this experimental vaccine currently in the possession of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Canada will keep a small supply of the experimental vaccine to conduct research in clinical trials on safety and efficacy. We will also keep some vials in the unlikely event they are needed in Canada. These vials, offered for donation, are already on their way to the WHO in Geneva. The first shipment left yesterday.
The vaccine vials are being sent in three separate shipments as a precautionary measure due to the challenges in moving a vaccine that must be kept at a very low temperature, -80°C is my understanding, at all times and in the event that there is an accident during shipping.
The WHO has determined that there are some important safety and ethical considerations that it needs to resolve before the vaccine vials can be given to people. The global community, under the leadership of the WHO, is making progress addressing those issues. There are also logistical challenges.
Canada stands ready to support the WHO and we expect to see our donated experimental vaccine deployed as quickly, ethically and as safely as possible. Canada welcomes efforts to strengthen the co-ordination of efforts through the new UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and we have called for an integrated plan that outlines the roles of all groups and countries involved.
Canada will continue to explore how we can further respond acting on the humanitarian assistance that is the clearest expression of our shared Canadian values. Canadians stand with the people of West Africa during these extraordinarily challenging times and with all those on the front line fighting the Ebola outbreak in this region.
In that context, Canada remains committed to working with our partners in the international community to help stop the outbreak, treat patients and meet humanitarian needs.