(VOVworld) – The new Head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said Saturday that halting the spread of the deadly Ebola virus is a difficult mission but success is within reach.

Head of the UNMEER Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (Photo: citifmonline.com)

Cheikh Ahmed emphasized that the war against the Ebola virus has only one solution, which is wiping out the virus. Cheikh Ahmed, who takes over from Anthony Banbury, arrived in Accra on Saturday, where the mission is headquartered. He will visit Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, the center of the epidemic.

According to the latest World Health Organization figures, there have been 20,200 confirmed, probable or suspected cases of Ebola and nearly 8,000 reported deaths.