0:00:15.343,0:00:20.358
When I was asked to, invited, rather,[br]to give this talk a couple of months ago

0:00:20.359,0:00:23.741
we discussed a number[br]of titles with the organizers

0:00:23.742,0:00:27.290
and a lot of different titles[br]were kicked around and were discussed,

0:00:27.291,0:00:30.682
but nobody suggested[br]this one that you see here today.

0:00:30.683,0:00:33.574
The reason for that was, two months ago,

0:00:33.575,0:00:36.844
Ebola was escalating exponentially

0:00:36.845,0:00:41.009
and spreading over wider geographic areas[br]than we had ever seen

0:00:41.010,0:00:45.486
and the world was terrified, concerned,[br]and alarmed by this disease

0:00:45.487,0:00:49.074
in a way we've not seen in recent history.

0:00:49.075,0:00:55.374
But today, I can stand here[br]and I can talk to you about beating Ebola

0:00:55.382,0:00:58.942
because of people[br]whom you've never heard of,

0:00:58.943,0:01:01.656
people like Peter Clement,

0:01:04.691,0:01:09.101
a Liberian doctor,[br]who's working in Lofa County,

0:01:09.102,0:01:14.269
a place that many of you[br]have never heard of, probably, in Liberia.

0:01:15.736,0:01:18.434
The reason that Lofa County[br]is so important

0:01:18.435,0:01:20.614
is because about five months ago,

0:01:20.615,0:01:25.094
when the epidemic[br]was just starting to escalate,

0:01:25.095,0:01:30.215
Lofa County was right at the center,[br]the epicenter of this epidemic.

0:01:30.216,0:01:33.741
At that time,[br]MSF and the treatment center there,

0:01:33.742,0:01:36.303
were seeing dozens of patients[br]every single day,

0:01:36.304,0:01:40.645
and these patients, these communities,[br]were becoming more and more terrified

0:01:40.646,0:01:45.041
as time went by, with this disease[br]and what it was doing to their families,

0:01:45.042,0:01:48.728
to their communities,[br]to their children, to their relatives.

0:01:48.729,0:01:53.606
And so Peter Clement was charged with[br]driving that 12-hour-long rough road

0:01:53.607,0:01:57.105
from Monrovia, the capital,[br]up to Lofa County

0:01:57.106,0:02:02.450
to try and help bring control[br]to the escalating epidemic there.

0:02:02.451,0:02:07.926
And what Peter found when he arrived[br]was a terror that I just mentioned to you.

0:02:07.927,0:02:12.059
So he sat down with the local chiefs,[br]and he listened.

0:02:12.060,0:02:16.064
And what he heard was heartbreaking.

0:02:16.065,0:02:20.893
He heard about the devastation[br]and the desperation of people

0:02:20.894,0:02:23.016
affected by this disease.

0:02:23.017,0:02:25.764
He heard the heartbreaking stories

0:02:25.765,0:02:29.096
about not just the damage[br]that Ebola did to people,

0:02:29.097,0:02:32.266
but what it did to families,[br]and what it did to communities.

0:02:33.156,0:02:38.157
And he listened to the local chiefs[br]there, and what they told him --

0:02:38.158,0:02:41.527
They said: "When our children are sick,[br]when our children are dying,

0:02:41.528,0:02:45.086
we can't hold them at a time[br]when we want to be closest to them.

0:02:45.087,0:02:49.811
When our relatives die, we can't take care[br]of them as our tradition demands.

0:02:49.812,0:02:52.380
We are not allowed to wash[br]the bodies to bury them

0:02:52.381,0:02:55.900
the way our communities[br]and our rituals demand.

0:02:55.901,0:02:57.123
And for this reason,

0:02:57.124,0:02:59.516
they were deeply disturbed,[br]deeply alarmed

0:02:59.517,0:03:02.629
and the entire epidemic[br]was unraveling in front of them.

0:03:02.630,0:03:05.803
People were turning on[br]the healthcare workers who had come,

0:03:05.804,0:03:09.280
the heroes who come to try[br]and help save the community,

0:03:09.281,0:03:13.555
to help work with the community,[br]and they were unable to access them.

0:03:14.574,0:03:20.246
And what happened then was[br]Peter explained to the leaders.

0:03:20.247,0:03:22.997
The leaders listened.[br]They turned the tables.

0:03:22.998,0:03:26.763
And Peter explained what Ebola was.[br]He explained what the disease was.

0:03:26.764,0:03:29.012
He explained what it did[br]to their communities,

0:03:29.013,0:03:34.524
and he explained that Ebola threatened[br]everything that made us human:

0:03:34.525,0:03:38.336
Ebola means you can't hold your children[br]the way you would in this situation,

0:03:38.337,0:03:40.790
you can't bury your dead[br]the way that you would,

0:03:40.791,0:03:45.691
you have to trust these people[br]in the space suits to do that for you.

0:03:45.692,0:03:46.923
And ladies and gentlemen,

0:03:46.924,0:03:49.105
what happened then[br]was rather extraordinary:

0:03:49.106,0:03:52.217
the community, health workers,[br]and Peter sat down together

0:03:52.218,0:03:56.716
and they put together a new plan[br]for controlling Ebola in that Lofa County.

0:03:56.717,0:04:00.374
And the reason that this is[br]such an important story,

0:04:00.375,0:04:01.942
ladies and gentlemen,

0:04:01.943,0:04:04.611
is because today, this County,

0:04:04.612,0:04:07.957
which is right at the center[br]of this epidemic you've been watching,

0:04:07.958,0:04:09.823
you've been seeing on the newspapers,

0:04:09.824,0:04:13.329
you've been seeing[br]on the television screens,

0:04:13.330,0:04:19.115
today, Lofa County is nearly eight weeks[br]without seeing a single case of Ebola.

0:04:19.116,0:04:20.743
(Applause)

0:04:26.203,0:04:29.953
This doesn't mean[br]that the job is done, obviously;

0:04:29.954,0:04:33.125
there's still a huge risk[br]that there'll be additional cases there,

0:04:33.126,0:04:36.410
but what it does teach us[br]is that Ebola can be beaten.

0:04:36.411,0:04:37.880
That's the key thing.

0:04:37.881,0:04:39.130
Even on the scale,

0:04:39.131,0:04:42.802
even with the rapid kind of growth[br]that we saw in this environment here,

0:04:42.803,0:04:46.768
we now know Ebola can be beaten.

0:04:46.769,0:04:50.597
When communities come together[br]with healthcare workers, work together,

0:04:50.598,0:04:53.250
that's when this disease can be stopped.

0:04:53.251,0:04:57.025
But how did Ebola end up[br]in Lofa County in the first place?

0:04:57.026,0:05:01.435
Well, for that, we have to go back[br]12 months, to the start of this epidemic.

0:05:01.436,0:05:05.008
And as many you know,[br]this virus went undetected,

0:05:05.009,0:05:08.879
it evaded detection[br]for three or four months when it began.

0:05:08.880,0:05:11.438
That's because this is not[br]a disease of West Africa,

0:05:11.439,0:05:14.649
it's a disease of Central Africa,[br]half a continent away.

0:05:14.650,0:05:16.548
People hadn't seen the disease before;

0:05:16.549,0:05:18.915
health workers hadn't seen[br]the disease before.

0:05:18.916,0:05:21.175
They didn't know[br]what they were dealing with.

0:05:21.176,0:05:23.098
And to make it[br]even more complicated,

0:05:23.099,0:05:27.548
the virus itself was causing a symptom,[br]a type of a presentation

0:05:27.549,0:05:30.146
that wasn't classical of the disease,

0:05:30.147,0:05:34.390
so people didn't even recognize[br]the disease, people who knew Ebola.

0:05:34.391,0:05:38.167
For that reason it evaded[br]detection for some time,

0:05:38.168,0:05:41.294
but contrary to public belief[br]sometimes these days,

0:05:41.295,0:05:47.340
once the virus was detected,[br]there was a rapid surge in of support.

0:05:47.341,0:05:52.320
MSF rapidly set up an Ebola treatment[br]center as many of you know, in the area.

0:05:52.321,0:05:56.146
The World Health Organization[br]and the partners it works with deployed

0:05:56.147,0:05:58.985
eventually hundreds of people[br]over the next two months

0:05:58.986,0:06:01.459
to be able to help track the virus.

0:06:01.460,0:06:03.563
The problem, ladies and gentlemen, is

0:06:03.564,0:06:08.517
by then, this virus, well known[br]now as Ebola, had spread too far.

0:06:08.518,0:06:12.217
It had already outstripped[br]what was one of the largest responses

0:06:12.218,0:06:15.587
that had been mounted so far[br]to an Ebola outbreak.

0:06:15.588,0:06:17.187
By the middle of the year,

0:06:17.188,0:06:22.328
not just Guinea but now Sierra Leone[br]and Liberia were also infected.

0:06:22.329,0:06:27.241
The virus was spreading geographically,[br]the numbers were increasing,

0:06:27.242,0:06:29.302
and at this time,

0:06:29.303,0:06:33.743
not only were hundreds of people[br]infected and dying of the disease

0:06:33.744,0:06:34.946
but as importantly,

0:06:34.947,0:06:38.507
the front line responders, the people[br]who had gone to try and help,

0:06:38.508,0:06:42.583
the healthcare workers,[br]the other responders

0:06:42.584,0:06:45.949
were also sick and dying by the dozens.

0:06:45.950,0:06:48.926
The presidents of these countries[br]recognized the emergencies.

0:06:48.927,0:06:50.709
They met right around that time,

0:06:50.710,0:06:53.272
they agreed on common action,[br]and they put together

0:06:53.273,0:06:56.485
an emergency joint operation center[br]in Conakry

0:06:56.486,0:07:00.992
to try and work together to finish[br]this disease and get it stopped,

0:07:00.993,0:07:03.701
to implement the strategies[br]we talked about.

0:07:03.702,0:07:07.851
But what happened then was something[br]we had never seen before with Ebola.

0:07:07.852,0:07:11.969
What happened then was the virus,[br]or someone sick with the virus,

0:07:11.970,0:07:15.239
boarded an airplane,[br]flew to another country,

0:07:15.240,0:07:16.757
and for the first time,

0:07:16.758,0:07:21.575
we saw in another distant country[br]the virus pop up again.

0:07:21.576,0:07:23.573
This time it was in Nigeria,

0:07:23.574,0:07:28.149
in the teeming metropolis[br]of Lagos, 21 million people;

0:07:28.150,0:07:31.255
now the virus was in that environment.

0:07:31.256,0:07:36.153
And as you can anticipate, there was[br]international alarm, international concern

0:07:36.154,0:07:38.513
on a scale that we haven't seen[br]in recent years

0:07:38.514,0:07:40.903
caused by a disease like this.

0:07:40.904,0:07:45.484
The World Health Organization immediately[br]called together an expert panel,

0:07:45.485,0:07:49.362
looked at the situation,[br]declared an international emergency.

0:07:49.363,0:07:51.984
And in doing so, the expectation would be

0:07:51.985,0:07:55.836
that there be a huge outpouring[br]of international assistance

0:07:55.837,0:08:00.998
to help these countries which were in[br]so much trouble and concern at that time.

0:08:00.999,0:08:04.221
But what we saw[br]was something very different.

0:08:04.222,0:08:08.029
There was some great response.

0:08:08.030,0:08:12.401
A number of countries came to assist[br]- many NGOs and others, as you know -

0:08:12.402,0:08:15.812
but at the same time,[br]the opposite happened in many places.

0:08:17.922,0:08:20.438
Alarm escalated, and very soon,

0:08:20.439,0:08:22.505
these countries found themselves

0:08:22.506,0:08:26.663
not receiving the support they needed[br]but increasingly isolated.

0:08:26.664,0:08:31.216
What we saw was commercial airlines[br][stopped] flying into these countries,

0:08:31.217,0:08:34.046
and people who hadn't even been[br]exposed to the virus

0:08:34.047,0:08:36.212
were no longer allowed to travel.

0:08:36.212,0:08:40.183
This caused not only problems,[br]obviously, for the countries themselves

0:08:40.183,0:08:42.023
but also for the response.

0:08:42.024,0:08:44.879
Those organizations[br]that we're trying to bring people in,

0:08:44.880,0:08:47.370
to try and help them[br]respond to the outbreak,

0:08:47.371,0:08:49.091
could not get people on airplanes,

0:08:49.092,0:08:52.354
couldn't get them into the countries[br]to be able to respond.

0:08:52.355,0:08:58.245
In that situation, ladies and gentleman,[br]a virus like Ebola takes advantage.

0:08:58.246,0:09:02.755
And what we saw then was something[br]also we hadn't seen before:

0:09:02.756,0:09:05.429
not only did this virus[br]continue in the places

0:09:05.430,0:09:09.492
where they'd already become infected[br]but then it started to escalate

0:09:09.493,0:09:11.875
and we saw the case numbers[br]that you see here,

0:09:11.876,0:09:14.862
something we never seen[br]before on such a scale,

0:09:14.863,0:09:17.791
and exponential increase of Ebola cases

0:09:17.792,0:09:22.302
not just in these countries or the areas[br]already infected in these countries

0:09:22.303,0:09:26.017
but also spreading further[br]and deeper into these countries.

0:09:26.018,0:09:27.334
Ladies and gentleman,

0:09:27.335,0:09:33.010
this was one of the most concerning,[br]international emergencies in public health

0:09:33.011,0:09:34.446
we've ever seen.

0:09:34.447,0:09:36.524
And what happened[br]in these countries then,

0:09:36.525,0:09:40.364
many of you saw, again, on the television,[br]read about in the newspapers,

0:09:40.365,0:09:45.896
we saw the health system start to collapse[br]under the weight of this epidemic.

0:09:45.897,0:09:48.719
We saw the schools begin to close,

0:09:50.736,0:09:54.415
markets no longer functioned the way[br]that they should in these countries.

0:09:54.416,0:09:58.382
We saw the misinformation,[br]the misperceptions, started to spread

0:09:58.383,0:10:00.340
even faster through the communities

0:10:00.341,0:10:03.060
which became even more alarmed[br]about the situation.

0:10:03.061,0:10:04.430
They started to recoil

0:10:04.431,0:10:07.900
from those people that you saw[br]in those space suits, as they call them,

0:10:07.901,0:10:09.680
who had come to help them.

0:10:09.681,0:10:12.412
And then the situation[br]deteriorated even further:

0:10:12.413,0:10:15.030
the countries had to declare[br]a state of emergency,

0:10:15.031,0:10:20.790
large populations need to be quarantined[br]in some areas, and then riots broke out.

0:10:20.791,0:10:24.455
It was a very, very terrifying situation.

0:10:24.456,0:10:27.093
And the world, many people began to ask:

0:10:27.094,0:10:31.083
"Can we ever stop Ebola[br]when it starts to spread like this?"

0:10:31.084,0:10:35.584
And they started to ask: "How well[br]do we really know this virus?"

0:10:35.585,0:10:38.961
The reality is we don't know[br]Ebola extremely well.

0:10:38.962,0:10:42.804
It's a relatively modern disease[br]in terms of what we know about it

0:10:42.805,0:10:45.171
we've known the disease only for 40 years

0:10:45.172,0:10:48.994
since it first popped up[br]in Central Africa in 1976.

0:10:48.995,0:10:52.444
But despite that, we do know many things:

0:10:52.445,0:10:55.804
we know that this virus probably[br]survives in a type of a bat,

0:10:55.805,0:10:59.204
we know that it probably enters[br]a human population

0:10:59.209,0:11:01.994
when we come in contact with a wild animal

0:11:01.995,0:11:05.495
that has been infected with the virus[br]and probably sickened by it.

0:11:05.498,0:11:08.503
Then we know that the virus[br]spreads from person to person

0:11:08.504,0:11:10.964
through contaminated body fluids.

0:11:10.968,0:11:12.144
And as you've all seen,

0:11:12.145,0:11:15.437
we know the horrific disease[br]that it then causes in humans,

0:11:15.438,0:11:20.284
where we see this disease caused[br]severe fevers, diarrhea, vomiting,

0:11:20.285,0:11:26.376
and then, unfortunately, and in 70%[br]of the cases or often more, death.

0:11:26.377,0:11:32.136
This is a very dangerous,[br]debilitating, and deadly disease.

0:11:32.137,0:11:36.475
But despite the fact that we've not known[br]this disease for a particularly long time,

0:11:36.476,0:11:40.905
and we don't know everything about it,[br]we do know how to stop this disease.

0:11:40.906,0:11:44.899
There are four things[br]that are critical to stopping Ebola.

0:11:44.900,0:11:48.910
First and foremost, the communities[br]have got to understand this disease,

0:11:48.911,0:11:52.599
they've got to understand[br]how it spreads and how to stop it.

0:11:52.600,0:11:54.896
And then we've got[br]to be able to have systems

0:11:54.897,0:11:58.666
that could find every single case,[br]every contact of those cases,

0:11:58.667,0:12:02.956
and begin to track the transmission chain[br]so that you can stop transmission.

0:12:02.957,0:12:06.576
We have to have treatment centers,[br]specialized Ebola treatment centers,

0:12:06.577,0:12:08.774
where the workers can be protected

0:12:08.775,0:12:13.623
as they try to provide support[br]to the people who are infected,

0:12:13.624,0:12:16.212
so that they might survive the disease

0:12:16.213,0:12:18.689
And then, for those who do die,

0:12:18.690,0:12:23.929
we have to ensure there is a safe but at[br]the same time dignified burial process,

0:12:23.930,0:12:28.235
so that there is no spread[br]at that time as well.

0:12:28.236,0:12:31.524
So we do know how to stop Ebola,

0:12:31.525,0:12:33.793
and these strategies work,[br]ladies and gentlemen.

0:12:33.794,0:12:37.062
The virus was stopped in Nigeria[br]by these four strategies,

0:12:37.063,0:12:39.599
and the people[br]implementing them, obviously.

0:12:39.600,0:12:42.259
It was stopped in Senegal[br]where it had spread,

0:12:42.260,0:12:44.079
and also in the other countries

0:12:44.080,0:12:47.159
that were affected by this virus,[br]in this outbreak.

0:12:47.160,0:12:51.345
So there's no question[br]that these strategies actually work.

0:12:51.346,0:12:53.459
The big question, ladies and gentlemen,

0:12:53.460,0:12:59.293
was whether these strategies could work[br]on this scale, in this situation,

0:12:59.294,0:13:04.337
with so many countries affected[br]with the exponential growth that you saw.

0:13:04.338,0:13:09.110
That was the big question that we were[br]facing just two for three months ago.

0:13:09.111,0:13:13.135
Today, we know the answer[br]to that question.

0:13:13.136,0:13:16.515
We know that answer[br]because of the extraordinary work

0:13:16.516,0:13:21.004
of an incredible group of NGOs,[br]of governments, of local leaders,

0:13:21.005,0:13:25.195
of UN agencies, and many humanitarian[br]and other organizations

0:13:25.197,0:13:29.716
that came and joined the fight[br]to try and stop Ebola in West Africa.

0:13:29.717,0:13:32.669
But what had to be done[br]there was slightly different.

0:13:32.680,0:13:35.767
These countries took[br]those strategies I just showed you;

0:13:35.768,0:13:40.567
the communities, the community engagement,[br]the case finding and contact tracing,

0:13:40.568,0:13:43.044
and they turn them on their head.

0:13:43.045,0:13:45.877
There was so much disease,[br]they approached it differently.

0:13:45.878,0:13:48.263
What they decided to do was

0:13:48.264,0:13:51.609
they would first try[br]and slow down this epidemic

0:13:51.610,0:13:54.025
by rapidly building[br]as many beds as possible

0:13:54.026,0:13:56.261
in specialized treatment centers,

0:13:56.262,0:14:01.608
so that they could prevent the disease[br]from spreading from those were infected.

0:14:01.609,0:14:04.446
They would rapidly build out[br]many many burial teams

0:14:04.447,0:14:06.480
so they could safely deal[br]with the dead,

0:14:06.481,0:14:09.308
and with that, they would try[br]and slow this outbreak to see

0:14:09.309,0:14:11.354
if it could actually then be controlled

0:14:11.355,0:14:15.890
using the classic approach[br]of case finding and contact tracing.

0:14:15.891,0:14:20.347
And when I went to West Africa[br]about three months ago, when I was there,

0:14:20.348,0:14:22.358
what I saw was extraordinary.

0:14:22.370,0:14:23.482
I saw presidents

0:14:23.483,0:14:27.025
opening emergency operation centers[br]themselves against Ebola

0:14:27.026,0:14:30.672
so that they could personally coordinate,[br]and oversee, and champion

0:14:30.673,0:14:34.562
this surge of international support[br]to try and stop this disease.

0:14:34.563,0:14:35.953
We saw militaries

0:14:35.954,0:14:38.544
from within those countries[br]and from far beyond,

0:14:38.545,0:14:41.136
coming in to help build[br]Ebola treatment centers

0:14:41.137,0:14:44.600
that could be used to isolate[br]those who are sick.

0:14:49.302,0:14:54.549
to help train the community so that they[br]could actually safely bury their dead

0:14:44.600,0:14:46.590
We saw the Red Cross Movement

0:14:46.591,0:14:49.302
working with its partner agencies[br]on the ground there

0:14:54.549,0:14:57.062
in a dignified manner themselves.

0:14:57.063,0:14:59.696
And we saw the UN agencies,[br]the World Food Program,

0:14:59.697,0:15:02.681
build a tremendous air bridge[br]that could get responders

0:15:02.682,0:15:05.708
to every single corner[br]of these countries rapidly

0:15:05.709,0:15:09.448
to be able to implement the strategies[br]that we just talked about.

0:15:09.449,0:15:12.921
What we saw, ladies and gentlemen,[br]which is probably most impressive,

0:15:12.922,0:15:15.991
was this incredible work[br]by the governments,

0:15:15.992,0:15:19.061
by the leaders in these countries,[br]with the communities,

0:15:19.062,0:15:21.725
to try insure[br]people understood this disease,

0:15:21.726,0:15:27.275
understood the extraordinary things[br]they'd have to do to try and stop Ebola.

0:15:27.276,0:15:29.287
And as a result, ladies and gentlemen,

0:15:29.288,0:15:34.129
we saw something that we did not know[br]only two or three months earlier,

0:15:34.130,0:15:36.441
whether or not it would be possible.

0:15:36.442,0:15:37.796
What we saw was

0:15:37.797,0:15:42.401
what you see now in this graph[br]when we took stock on December 1.

0:15:42.402,0:15:45.906
What we saw was[br]we could bend that curve, so to speak,

0:15:45.907,0:15:48.092
change this exponential growth,

0:15:48.093,0:15:52.002
and bring some hope back[br]to the ability to control this outbreak.

0:15:52.003,0:15:56.282
And for this reason, ladies and gentlemen,[br]there's absolutely no question now

0:15:56.283,0:16:02.329
that we can catch up with this outbreak[br]in West Africa, and we can beat Ebola.

0:16:02.330,0:16:06.001
The big question though,[br]that many people are asking,

0:16:06.002,0:16:07.733
even when they saw this curve, [is]:

0:16:07.734,0:16:10.557
"Well, hang on a minute;[br]that's great, you can slow it down,

0:16:10.558,0:16:12.960
but can you actually[br]drive it down to zero?"

0:16:12.961,0:16:16.822
We've already answered that question[br]right back at the beginning of this talk,

0:16:16.823,0:16:22.602
when I spoke about Lofa County in Liberia.

0:16:22.603,0:16:26.162
We told you the story[br]how Lofa County got to a situation

0:16:26.163,0:16:29.115
where they have not seen Ebola[br]for eight weeks.

0:16:29.116,0:16:32.495
But there are similar stories[br]from the other countries as well.

0:16:32.496,0:16:34.841
From Guéckédou in Guinea,

0:16:34.842,0:16:39.127
the first area where the first case[br]was actually diagnosed.

0:16:39.128,0:16:43.863
We've seen very, very few cases[br]in the last couple of months,

0:16:43.864,0:16:48.384
and here in Kenema, in Sierra Leone[br]- another area in the epicenter -

0:16:48.385,0:16:51.885
we have not seen the virus[br]for more than a couple of weeks.

0:16:51.886,0:16:55.008
Way too early to declare[br]victory, obviously,

0:16:55.009,0:16:56.726
but evidence, ladies and gentlemen,

0:16:56.727,0:17:00.274
not only can the response[br]catch up to the disease

0:17:00.275,0:17:03.250
but this disease can be driven to zero.

0:17:03.251,0:17:07.465
The challenge now, of course,[br]is doing this on the scale needed

0:17:07.467,0:17:12.862
right across these three countries,[br]and that is a huge challenge.

0:17:12.863,0:17:17.544
Because when you've been at[br]something for this long, on this scale,

0:17:17.545,0:17:21.844
two other big threats[br]come in to join the virus.

0:17:21.845,0:17:24.691
The first of those is complacency,

0:17:24.692,0:17:27.810
the risk that as this disease curve[br]starts to bend,

0:17:27.810,0:17:31.330
the media look elsewhere,[br]the world looks elsewhere.

0:17:31.331,0:17:32.921
Complacency's always a risk.

0:17:32.922,0:17:36.158
And the other risk, of course, is[br]when you've been working so hard

0:17:36.159,0:17:40.386
for so long and slept so few hours[br]over the past months,

0:17:40.387,0:17:43.086
people are tired, people become fatigued,

0:17:43.087,0:17:47.058
and these new risks[br]start to creep into the response.

0:17:47.059,0:17:51.529
Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you today[br]I've just come back from West Africa.

0:17:51.530,0:17:55.186
The people of this countries,[br]the leaders of these countries,

0:17:55.187,0:17:56.963
are not complacent.

0:17:56.964,0:18:00.602
They want to drive Ebola[br]to zero in their countries.

0:18:00.603,0:18:03.903
And these people, yes they're tired,[br]but they are not fatigued.

0:18:03.913,0:18:06.579
They have an energy, they have a courage,

0:18:06.580,0:18:09.157
they have the strength[br]to get this finished.

0:18:09.157,0:18:11.649
What they need,[br]ladies and gentlemen, at this point,

0:18:11.650,0:18:15.339
is the unwavering support[br]of the international community,

0:18:15.340,0:18:17.548
to stand with them, to bolster,

0:18:17.549,0:18:21.307
and bring even more support[br]at this time, to get the job finished.

0:18:21.308,0:18:24.590
Because finishing Ebola right now means

0:18:24.591,0:18:28.362
turning the tables on this virus[br]and beginning to hunt it.

0:18:28.363,0:18:33.634
Remember, this virus, this whole crisis,[br]rather, started with one case,

0:18:33.635,0:18:36.423
and is going to finish with one case.

0:18:36.424,0:18:40.675
But it will only finish if those countries[br]have got enough epidemiologists,

0:18:40.676,0:18:45.055
enough health workers, enough logisticians[br]and enough other people working with them

0:18:45.056,0:18:49.155
to be able to find every one[br]of those cases, track their contacts,

0:18:49.156,0:18:52.783
and make sure that this disease[br]stops once and for all.

0:18:52.784,0:18:54.700
I can tell you just having come back,

0:18:54.701,0:18:57.901
they are not complacent,[br]they are not fatigued,

0:18:57.902,0:19:01.982
and they will finish the job,[br]if they have the support that they need.

0:19:01.983,0:19:04.835
Ladies and gentlemen,[br]you know the story of Ebola,

0:19:04.836,0:19:08.679
we just told you the story[br]of Ebola, Ebola can be beaten.

0:19:08.680,0:19:11.560
Now, we need you to take this story out

0:19:11.561,0:19:13.591
to tell it to the people who will listen

0:19:13.592,0:19:16.574
and educate them[br]on what it means to beat Ebola,

0:19:16.575,0:19:20.165
and more importantly,[br]we need you to advocate with the people

0:19:20.166,0:19:23.716
who can help us bring the resources[br]we need to these countries,

0:19:23.717,0:19:25.614
to beat this disease.

0:19:25.615,0:19:26.992
Ladies and gentleman,

0:19:26.993,0:19:30.840
there are a lot of people out there[br]who will survive and will thrive

0:19:30.841,0:19:34.329
in part because of what you do[br]to help us beat Ebola.

0:19:34.330,0:19:35.491
Thank you.

0:19:35.492,0:19:36.521
(Applause)