Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union on Wednesday 21st October, 2015 participated in a session convened by the African Union Commission designed to brief Member States, development partners and the diplomatic community about the current situation of the Ebola virus disease in the three most affected countries.
In his intervention, Ambassador Keh Kamara commended the Commission for convening the session and stated inter-alia that the establishment of the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) with specific mandate to garner health workers across the continent and the subsequent deployment of these health workers in the affected countries could be described as the climax of the Commission’s efforts in the fight against the scourge.
He made the intervention at the 553rdMeeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) held at the African Union Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He informed the session that Sierra Leone has clocked Day 25 of the national countdown to 42 days when the World shall declare the country Ebola-Free.
Ambassador Kamara further expressed gratitude on behalf of the People and Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone for the innovative initiative undertaken by the Commission. He also expressed similar sentiments for the supportive role played by development partners, donors and the international community in combating the spread of the virus. He pointed out that the Ebola epidemic has devastated the economies and destroyed the health systems of the three main affected countries:Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. He stated that massive investment is needed in these countries for socio-economic recovery.He reminded the PSC about funds pledged by Member States, financial institutions, development partners, donors and the international community for Post–Ebola Recovery efforts. He stated that the alignment of these funds to the national priorities of these countries and the timely delivery of same will help to drive socio-economic recovery as well as make transformative improvements in the health systems of these countries. He beseeches the Council to collaborate with Member States, the donor community, development partners and the wider international community for effective delivery of these pledges.
Representatives of the United Nations Office for Africa (UNOA), China, the United States of America, France and the European Union reaffirmed their commitments to the Post-Ebola Recovery efforts.
By Abdul Karim Koroma
Information Attache’
Sierra Leone Embassy,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
