News:Medecins Sans Frontieres Slams Australia’s Ebola Response

The Australian Government has been embarrassed over its $7 million response to the Ebola virus with an international medical group rejecting the money and demanding Australian doctors be sent to Africa instead. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) executive director Paul McPhun has told News Corp he won’t accept the $2.5 million Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced would go to his group. “We have made clear we are not in a position to take the money,” he said. “We have been very clear with the government for two weeks now we are not asking for financial support, we are asking the government to evaluate Australia’s emergency medical capacity and mobilise it on the ground in West Africa.” The government through it's Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop said the government had made the offer of the $2.5 million to the international arm of Medecins Sans Frontieres in Geneva on Tuesday and the head of that organisation Dr Joanne Liu, had accepted the offer. “If the Australian arm won’t accept it we’ll donate it to other organisations with frontline services fighting Ebola,” she said. Ms Bishop said the national security committee of cabinet had considered at length the option of sending Australian troops and doctors to West Africa to help control Ebola. However, she said the government had been advised it would be impossible to evacuate any Australians who contracted the virus back to Australia in time for treatment. “It would be negligent of the government to go against that advice, she said. The United States had the capacity to treat any of its infected workers on site in West Africa in hospitals on board aircraft, an option not available to Australia, she said. Medecins Sans Frontieres had been advised of this problem, she said. “The Commonwealth understands the natural wish to do more to assist but the best advice we have is to make a financial contribution,” she said.