JTA | The Israeli government reportedly denied a U.S. request to assist in
medical relief in Ebola-stricken West African countries, but an Israeli
NGO is already on the ground in Sierre Leone.
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon rejected the request, which first came
to the Israeli Foreign Ministry from Samantha Power, the U.S. envoy to
the United Nations, Ynet reported Wednesday. In the request, Power cited Israel’s past successes in providing medical relief in disaster-stricken areas.
The Foreign Ministry favored the request, Ynet said, but sought the
approval of the Defense Ministry. Yaalon denied it, citing the risk of
infection to Israeli medical teams and the army troops needed to secure
them in West Africa. Israel’s assistance was sought in Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile, the Israeli non-governmental organization IsraAid, which
receives support from U.S. Jews, met this week with the first lady of
Sierra Leone and is in discussions with local authorities about how
to provide psychological and social counseling and increase local health
awareness. IsraAid founder Shachar Zahavi told JTA that his
organization is also in the process of recruiting medical personnel to
join those treating the affected area in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
In the coming months IsraAid plans to send over 30 experts in
post-traumatic stress disorder prevention and stress management to West
Africa to conduct intensive training for local social workers and health
workers.
The idea, according to IsraAid is “to provide them with practical
tools in stress management and trauma prevention techniques. The program
will be based on IsraAid’s world-renowned holistic approach developed
and implemented after disasters in Haiti, Japan, South Sudan, Jordan and
other countries around the world.”
