In statements to Associated Press Oct. 13, during the XI Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, in Arequipa, Peru, Kelly reported that Ebola was a topic of intense discussion during the conference, as military leaders feel that the armed forces' ability to mobilize is a key component of any defense.
Several defense ministers addressed the issue directly in their speeches.
Gen. Kelly underscored the sense of alarm among Caribbean and Central American leaders, in particular, since many of these smaller nations, whose populations are highly vulnerable, have little ability to deal with an Ebola outbreak. Haiti, whose devastating cholera epidemic is still considered an "emergency" by the United Nations, has little defense capability, he noted. As the tourist season begins in the Caribbean, leaders fear that vacationers coming in and out of the region—some on cruise ships—and not subject to any screening procedures, pose a threat of transmission.
Gen. Kelly reported that he has sent a military planner and medical expert to Germany to work with Africa Command officials, to better prepare the Southern Command should an Ebola threat emerge. SouthCom is also conducting simulations on the issue, to make sure the military is prepared if a country begins to see Ebola cases. He has asked for modeling data on how the virus might spread. "There is no fear-mongering here," Gen. Kelly emphasized.
"It's part of my job to anticipate that kind of thing. A lot of countries don't have really capable preventive medicine... it's not that they don't have any medical capabilities; it's that they don't have a lot."
Reflecting the level of alarm, in their speeches at the recent UN General Assembly meeting in New York, several Caribbean leaders warned that their nations do not have the ability to withstand an Ebola outbreak, and demanded urgent action to confront what they perceive as a global—not regional—threat. Ebola is "a public health emergency of international concern and a threat to global security," warned Barbados's Foreign Minister Sen. Maxine McLean. Belize's Foreign Minister Wilfred P. Erlington asked why international health agencies "did not respond more vigorously to the Ebola outbreak many months ago."
