Ebola reveals Achilles heel

Ebola reveals Achilles heel

The ongoing Ebola crisis is a timely reminder that Thailand lacks the appropriate leaders to deal with certain problems. The new outbreak has so far brought no actual threat directly into Thailand, but it remains a daily possibility. Open borders and ever-increasing airline schedules justify the decision last Saturday by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare Ebola an international health emergency. Health professionals have increased safety precautions to try to keep Ebola out of Thailand or, in the worst case scenario, to contain it.

For Thailand, the Ebola threat raises both health and political issues. The front line of all medical problems is the Ministry of Public Health. For close to three months, no minister has taken on the responsibility to decide how to deal with medical issues. The ministry itself, and most decisions, are in the hands of the permanent secretary. This is true of all government ministries.

No one doubts the ability of Narong Sahametapat as permanent secretary of the ministry. Dr Narong is one of the most capable civil servants. But as his unfortunate political dealings during the final days of the Yingluck Shinawatra government showed, Dr Narong is no politician. That is a good thing, since permanent secretaries have duties far from those of ministers and government. But in the semi-crisis of an Ebola outbreak that has already burst out of Africa, the government must not only be effective, it must be seen as taking all the necessary precautions to protect the country.

Compared to previous international health outbreaks such as Sars and avian viruses, protection against Ebola appears to be minimal. Last week, the director-general of the Department of Disease Control said some 300 tourists from Ebola-affected regions had been checked, and 21 were being monitored. It is not clear just what Dr Sophon Mekthon meant by "monitored", but as the virus spreads to additional African countries, and now even to the United States, the public requires even more assurances.

Officials should consider reviving the use of health units that use thermal imaging of arrivals at airports as one confidence-building step. But the Ebola scare, kept at bay so far, is only one of several issues that should be of concern to the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). At last weekend's Asean Regional Forum in Myanmar, Thailand spoke with the smallest voice.

Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, the NCPO head, is on schedule with his plan for a legislature, a reform committee and the like. Forming a government will come next. There is no date set, but it looks to be at least another month before ministers take their seats at their respective offices, and attend a cabinet meeting. Until that happens, the nation will stay crippled in certain areas, particularly in trade, the economy, health and diplomatic relations with other countries.

While the NCPO has many interlinking policies to consider, there are also important matters of state in limbo because of the lack of a government. The impotence of the Yingluck administration means that, in effect, the country has been without top-level administration and decision-makers for too long. Gen Prayuth should give some thought to assembling a cabinet as soon as possible. Even ministers-designate have powers under the law to make decisions that currently are pending. The country needs ministers to go abroad for important meetings such as the Asean conferences and to make policy decisions such as how to treat the Ebola crisis. This is an urgent national matter.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT