Officials from three of the African countries facing an outbreak of Ebola met with Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden during the U.S.-Africa Summit Monday.
According to a release from the State Department, Burwell and Frieden discussed responses to the outbreak of the deadly virus with Alpha Condé, the president of Guinea, and “senior officials” from Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“The group identified national and regional priorities and held intensive discussions on the types of assistance needed to mount an effective response. Secretary Burwell and Director Frieden reiterated U.S. engagement and support for efforts to control the outbreak and address the challenge,” the State Department announcement read, describing that the conference occurred on “the margins of the U.S.-African Leaders Summit.”
This week the White House is hosting African leaders for a summit focused on America’s ties to the continent. The summit is occurring as West Africa deals with an Ebola outbreak.
Friday, President Obama said that officials are taking precautions to ensure that people attending the summit are screened for Ebola.
“We’re taking the appropriate precautions,” he said. “Folks who are coming from these countries that have even a marginal risk or an infinitesimal risk of having been exposed in some fashion, we’re making sure we’re doing screening on that end – as they leave the country. We’ll do additional screening when they’re here. We feel confident that the procedures that we’ve put in place are appropriate.”
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