Mr. Chairman,

1. I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Group of 77 and China on Agenda item 132 entitled Programme budget for the biennium 2014-2015, in particular, United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response and the Office of the Special Envoy on Ebola, during the main part of sixty-ninth session of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly.

2. The Group wishes to thank Mdm. Susana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General, and Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for introducing the reports on this important agenda item.

3. The outbreak of Ebola virus in West Africa in the first quarter of this year has created a catastrophic humanitarian situation of an unprecedented nature in the three most affected countries namely, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

4. While we do appreciate the recent support from the international community in the effort to overcome the disease, the Group would like to point out on the need for urgent measures by the collective international community to prevent further spreading to other countries of the region and the world;

Mr. Chairman,

5. This disease is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as acknowledged by the World Health Organization (WHO) and appropriate emergency plans of action should be put in place in order to halt the growth in transmission and care for the sick people. In this connection, the Group welcomes the establishment of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), the first ever United Nations emergency health Mission and expects that adequate resources will be provided to the Mission to deliver its given mandate.

6. The Group of 77 and China also urges the Secretary-General to take any necessary measures to quickly implement the five strategic priorities assigned to the Mission, in particular those aiming at stopping the spread of the disease. Furthermore, the Group will closely examine the resource requirements of the Mission especially those related to the staffing structure with the aim of ensuring that resources are allocated to the core activities and not to administrative structures.

7. The Group would like to stress that the Secretariat should provide, in the forthcoming detailed budget submission, comprehensive information on the structure of the Mission and on the budgetary arrangements proposed for the Mission. In the informal consultations, we will seek further clarification on the operation of the Muti-partner trust fund and the relationship between the resources of the Fund and the resources of the Mission.

Mr. Chairman,

8. Given the involvement of many stakeholders in the process, we concur with the ACABQ that there is need to clarify the specific functions and tasks of UNMEER and of other partners, as well as on the lines of accountability and responsibility.

9. The Group would like to stress on the importance of pursuing long term solutions by assisting the countries affected in rebuilding strong and resilient health systems and alleviating the economic impacts driven by the disease and we look forward for detailed discussion during the consideration of a budget proposal on this item in few weeks to come.

10. The Group encourages the International community to continue to provide support and assistance to the most affected countries. In this regard, the Ministers of the Group of 77 and China, in their Declaration of 26th September 2014, acknowledged that Ebola epidemic is a threat to health security at the national, sub regional, regional and global levels and called on development partners and the entire international community to provide continued, sustained and relevant support to the efforts of the affected countries because global unity is the key to defeating Ebola, a common threat to global health.

Mr. Chairman,

11. In conclusion, we would like to assure you, Mr Chairman, of our commitment to work constructively with our partners to in the coming deliberations on this important issue.

I thank you.