War on Ebola can be won … with a big effort, says World Bank chief

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, a medical doctor, said that the best way to stop Ebola is to rush people who can help to the African nations at the core of the outbreak. He hailed the New York doctor diagnosed with Ebola as a hero.

Ebola epidemic made worse by fear-mongering, says World Bank President

Washington

With Ebola rising as a concern for Americans due to a case of the disease in New York City, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Friday that the challenge posed by the virus can be met through vigorous effort.

President Kim, himself a medical doctor, called the response by New York officials “impressive” and praised the Ebola patient there asa physician who was willing to go to West Africa to help others with the disease.

Kim’s view – rooted in his past experiences leading fights against infectious disease – is that the way to stop Ebola is to rush people who can help to the three West African nations at the core of the outbreak. The battle is not so much against a disease as against a form of nihilism, the idea that there’s not much rich nations can do to help in the most-affected nations of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

Kim was joined by other health officials Friday in cautioning against fear.

"We want to state at the outset that New Yorkers have no reason to be alarmed" by the diagnosis of Dr. Spencer Thursday, said Mayor Bill