Walter Lindner in Liberia

Germany's special Ebola commissioner was in Liberia on Monday to inspect the progress made so far by the German relief effort. He spoke to DW's Monrovia correspondent, Julius Kanubah.

DW: What are Germany's priorities?

Walter Lindner: It is important to maintain and to keep up the big treatment centers, like the ETUs [Ebola Treatment Units] which we received this week from the WHO [World Health Organization], and the German Red Cross and German army are already working to prepare everything for our first patient. The number of Ebola cases is fluctuating and diminishing a bit, which is good news, but we don't know if that will continue. It could be that it goes up again, so we have to have standby facilities available.

Germany has been trying to intervene in this Ebola fight, how significant is Germany's contribution, what concrete action are you taking on the ground?

Well, altogether we have dedicated 150 million euros ($185 million) for the fight and this includes a lot of different things. For example, the air bridge, which is a huge undertaking. So far we have more than 100 flights by the German Bundeswehr [Germany's armed forces], between Accra and Dakar and three capitals [Monrovia, Freetown, Conakry]. They transport all items from medicines to tents and biscuits. Then, of course, we have a medivac facility for evacuation of patients to facilities in Europe or other countries. A lot of German NGOs are providing food for people in quarantine. We have German technicians from the THV [Bundesanstalt Technisches HIlfswerk - Federal Agency for Technical Relief]. They have about 20 people in all the three countries. We have provided more than 400 motorbikes with cooling facilities for the transport of blood samples to laboratories. So these are some of the things we are doing.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, which you support, released a statement last week saying that there are many Ebola Treatment Units, ETUs, in Liberia but there are not enough health workers on the ground. So what is Germany doing in that direction?

We employ our people flexibly. The important thing is that you maintain a certain bed capacity, which might be above the numbers of patients we have at the moment. We don't know how the numbers will develop. That's why we need a month or two to observe them. Meanwhile, we are maintaining the big treatment centers. At the same time there are other things we have to do. People are working in rapid reaction forces, others do tracing, dead bodies' management. Our Red Cross and German army staff work in the United Nations hospital here. We do training and a lot of things to make sure our people are employed efficiently. But we have to be careful as we are not yet out of the woods. It could be that even in Liberia the numbers will go up again. So in order not to make a mistake over bed capacities, we have to maintain the numbers for one to two months and we can take a decision in January or February.

This is your third trip to Liberia. What is the situation now, as you see it?

Of course, lots of things have changed. When I was here six weeks ago, they were all crying out for more beds, saying they were going to have more than half a million patients here by the end of the year. Then later, when I came again, they said well, the trend is much better, the numbers are lower. That is why we started thinking of alternatives. So this time, I have to ensure that all the alternative measures - with the United Nations - are well implemented. I have to ensure that people are committed to their work and gainfully employed so I can return to Germany in a positive mood.

How hopeful are you that Ebola will be defeated very soon?

Well, we all have to be hopeful, that is our job here. If we were pessimistic we couldn't do this job. I think the international community has woken up late, but all the same they have woken up .

Walter Lindner is the German government's special Ebola commissioner

Interview: Julius Kanubah