LONDON (AFP)— Naging makupad ang pagtugon ng mayayamang bansa sa epidemya ng Ebola dahil nagsimula ito sa Africa, sinabi ni dating United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan sa isang matinding pagbatikos sa pagtugon sa krisis noong Huwebes.

“I am bitterly disappointed by the response... I am disappointed in the international community for not moving faster,” sabi ni Annan sa flagship BBC programme na Newsnight.

“If the crisis had hit some other region it probably would have been handled very differently. In fact when you look at the evolution of the crisis, the international community really woke up when the disease got to America and Europe.”

Sinabi ng Ghanaian diplomat, na isang dekadang namuno sa United Nations hanggang 2006, na dapat ay naging malinaw na mabilis lang ang pagkalat ng virus mula sa kanyang epicentre sa western Africa patungo sa mga bansa sa ibayong dagat.

VP Sara, tahasang iginiit na hindi niya binoto si Romuadlez

Simula noon, naisalin na ang virus sa isang nurse sa Spain at dalawang nurse sa United States na gumagamot sa mga pasyenteng nahawaan ng sakit sa Africa.

“I point the finger of blame at the governments with capacity... I think there’s enough blame to go around,” ani Annan.

“The African countries in the region could have done a bit more they could have asked for help much faster and the international community could have organised ourselves in a much better way to offer assistance.”

“We didn’t need to take months to do what we are doing today.”