The African Union (AU) Executive Council will meet in Addis Ababa on September 8 to adopt a common position and define appropriate strategies to enable Africa to effectively combat the Ebola epidemic.

“The council’s emergency meeting has been necessitated by the need to have a common understanding of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and current status of the response and to come up with a collective continental approach, taking into account the socio-political and economic impact of the disease,” said the AU in a statement on Wednesday.

In July, the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) of the AU met ahead of the Executive Council meeting, and discussed various issues in preparation for the meeting. This included direct assistance to Member States affected by Ebola and the need to accelerate efforts towards the establishment of an African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP).

The meeting also highlighted the importance of communication strategies on the crisis, both within and outside the continent, mobilisation of the necessary resources, and building the capacity of Member States in the field of research on vaccines and drugs against Ebola.

Various African countries including Nigeria, Botswana, Malawi, Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Africa have extended support to Ebola affected countries, such as direct funding, medical personnel and clinics to compliment on-going AU and international efforts.

“The Executive Council meeting is also expected to deliberate on the suspension of flights, and maritime and border closures, as well as stigmatisation of the affected countries and their nationals,” the AU said.

The AU said concern has been raised by some countries that such measures could have serious socio economic and cultural effects, and could ultimately lead to increased suffering of people in the affected countries.

“Ebola has largely affected countries in West Africa and there are concerns not only over the fatality rate, but also on the consequences of the disease on the affected countries, many of whom are trying to grow their economies after emerging from conflict.”

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union invoked Article 6f of its Protocol and decided on 19 August 2014 to “authorize the immediate deployment of an AU-led Joint Military and Civil Medical Mission against Ebola, comprising of medical doctors, nurses and other medical and paramedical personnel, as well as military medical personnel.

The first deployment of the medical mission is scheduled to start on 10 September 2014.

The latest number of EVD cases in affected countries Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, stands at 3 069, with over 1 552 deaths, making this the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. An unprecedented number of health care workers have also been infected and died due to this outbreak.