President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has
called on the international community, said Ebola has brought Liberia to
'standstill' and help is desperately needed.
The
Ebola outbreak risks unleashing an economic catastrophe that will leave
a 'lost generation' of West Africans, Liberian President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf has said.
The president made a desperate appeal for help from every nation with the capacity to do so, describing the initial reaction as 'inconsistent and lacking in clear direction or urgency'.
She said the international community had woken up to the global health risk posed by the epidemic but said her country had been brought to 'a standstill' and was desperate for funding and medical supplies.
The president made a desperate appeal for help from every nation with the capacity to do so, describing the initial reaction as 'inconsistent and lacking in clear direction or urgency'.
She said the international community had woken up to the global health risk posed by the epidemic but said her country had been brought to 'a standstill' and was desperate for funding and medical supplies.
She noted that Liberia and two other badly hit countries - Guinea and Sierra Leone - were already weakened by years of war.
'There is no coincidence Ebola has taken hold in three fragile states - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - all battling to overcome the effects of interconnected wars,' the leader said.
She pointed out that Liberia once had 3,000 medical doctors, but by the end of its 1989-2003 civil war the country had just 36.
'There is no coincidence Ebola has taken hold in three fragile states - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - all battling to overcome the effects of interconnected wars,' the leader said.
She pointed out that Liberia once had 3,000 medical doctors, but by the end of its 1989-2003 civil war the country had just 36.
President Johnson Sirleaf insisted that the whole world had a stake infighting the deadly virus
'The time for talking or theorizing is over. Only concerted action will save my country, and our neighbours, from experiencing another national tragedy.'
The total death toll of the Ebola outbreak, first detected in March deep in the forests of southern Guinea, has risen to more than 4,500 people with 9,000 infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although Senegal has been declared free of Ebola and Nigeria is expected to get the all clear, the epidemic remains out of control in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
WHO warns that by December there could be as many as 10,000 new infections per week.
The deadly virus has also reached Spain and the United States but outbreaks have been contained so far. President Barack Obama has appealed for Americans not to give in to hysteria or fear.
Winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, President Johnson Sirleaf insisted that the whole world had a stake in fighting the virus.
She said: 'This disease respects no borders. It is the duty of all of us, as global citizens, to send a message that we will not leave millions of West Africans to fend for themselves against an enemy that they do not know, and against whom they have little defence.'
The United Nations has established a regional headquarters for the response to Ebola in Accra, Ghana.
The director of WHO Margaret Chan was scheduled to attend a meeting in Ghana but did not make any public appearances, cancelling a scheduled press conference Saturday.
Ms Chan and WHO have come under scrutiny following an internal document obtained by The Associated Press which said the UN health organization did not respond adequately to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Source: The Daily Mail
'The time for talking or theorizing is over. Only concerted action will save my country, and our neighbours, from experiencing another national tragedy.'
The total death toll of the Ebola outbreak, first detected in March deep in the forests of southern Guinea, has risen to more than 4,500 people with 9,000 infected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although Senegal has been declared free of Ebola and Nigeria is expected to get the all clear, the epidemic remains out of control in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
WHO warns that by December there could be as many as 10,000 new infections per week.
The deadly virus has also reached Spain and the United States but outbreaks have been contained so far. President Barack Obama has appealed for Americans not to give in to hysteria or fear.
Winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, President Johnson Sirleaf insisted that the whole world had a stake in fighting the virus.
She said: 'This disease respects no borders. It is the duty of all of us, as global citizens, to send a message that we will not leave millions of West Africans to fend for themselves against an enemy that they do not know, and against whom they have little defence.'
The United Nations has established a regional headquarters for the response to Ebola in Accra, Ghana.
The director of WHO Margaret Chan was scheduled to attend a meeting in Ghana but did not make any public appearances, cancelling a scheduled press conference Saturday.
Ms Chan and WHO have come under scrutiny following an internal document obtained by The Associated Press which said the UN health organization did not respond adequately to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Source: The Daily Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment