UN special envoy commends Cuba's response to Ebola crisis

Cubans should be super proud of their response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa last year, the UN special envoy on Ebola, David Nabarro, told reporters here Thursday.

Nabarro made the comments at a press conference during a two- day International Ebola Recovery Conference, which kicked off here Thursday morning.

"Cuba was one of the very first nations that responded to the request by the UN secretary-general for help," Nabarro said. Cuba contributed more than 250 personnel who were posted in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three worst affected countries in the Ebola crisis, including personnel from the Cuban Medical Brigade's rapid response unit, he said.

Cuba has sought to place itself at the forefront of the international response to the Ebola epidemic, sending 165 doctors and nurses to Sierra Leone to combat the disease.

Nabarro said he had personally been to Cuba to convey his thanks for the Caribbean country's support.

"I went to Havana and spoke with President (Raul) Castro about this Cuban response and I just said to him how personally impressed and grateful I was for the speed and the generosity of the response," he said. "If I was a Cuban, I'd be super proud."

Nabarro also praised in general the international solidarity shown during the Ebola response.

He said he was also impressed by the contributions of the African Union (AU).

"It was an amazing response," Nabarro said, adding that the AU had been successful in mobilizing support from public and private sources.

According to the special envoy, the AU is to move forward with plans to set up an African Center for Disease Control during the AU International Ebola Conference set to take place on July 20-21 in Equatorial Guinea. Endite