UN appoints deputy UN coordinator to fight Ebola

The UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday announced the appointment of veteran UN official Anthony Banbury as the deputy UN coordinator for Ebola and operation crisis manager.

Banbury and the senior UN coordinator for Ebola David Nabarro will work closely with the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan and the WHO "in managing the overall response to the Ebola crisis," said a statement released here, noting that Banbury will be operating from the United Nations Operations Crisis Centre.

Banbury will coordinate the operational work of the UN System, member states, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders under a single platform, with the focus to ensure the United Nations'overall response plan by working closely with the various actors in the region.

The appointment came several days after Ban said that UN Ebola crisis center will be set up to stop the spread of the virus in six to nine months.

More than 3,500 confirmed or probable cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been reported in four western African countries of Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone and more than 1,900 people have died since March.

Banbury, born in the United States, has more than 20 years of experience in political, peacekeeping, and management roles across several different regions and organizations in the UN system. He has been UN Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support since 2009.