BY PASCO TEMPLE AND KABS KANU
United States President Barack Obama has openly disclosed to Heads of State of three West African Countries (Sierra Leone, Guinea & Liberia) that he is proud to work in partnership with them.
Speaking to Sierra Leoneโs President Ernest Bai Koroma, Guineaโs Professor Alhassan Conde and Liberiaโs President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, today ย Wednesday August 15th, 2015, at the white House in Washington DC, President Barack Obama said โ The United States has a long partnership with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
He said the Partnership has ย proven to be critical in the fight against Ebola. โWeโre proud to partner with you and we intend to see this through until the job is done. Said President Obama.
Speaking during a joint Press Conference at the White House, President Obama ย said, โWe are here to assess progress today and, to look ahead.
According to him, โMore than 10,000 people have died from Ebola — men, women and children. ย On behalf of the ย American people, we want to express our deepest condolences to the families and recognize how challenging this has been for all the countries involved.
โUnder extraordinary circumstances, the people of these three countries have shown great courage and resolve, treating and taking care of each other, especially children and orphans.โ
President Obama said the United States has been proud to lead an international effort to work with these three countries in a global response.
โLast week, there were fewer than 40 new cases, so weโve seen major progress. ย In Liberia right now, there are zero cases. ย โIn Sierra Leone and Guinea combined, there were fewer than 40 new cases last week and thatโs around the lowest number in a year. ย โNow weโre focused on a shared goal, and that is getting to zero. ย We canโt be complacent. ย This virus is unpredictable.
โWe have to be vigilant, and the international community has to remain fully engaged in a partnership with these three countries until there are no cases of Ebola in these countries. ย Health systems also have to be rebuilt to meet daily needs — vaccines for measles, delivering babies safely, treating HIV/AIDS and malaria. ย And with our Global Health Security Agenda, we intend to do more to prevent future epidemics.โ
President Obama has also described ย Ebola epidemic as an economic crisis.
โ Thatโs part of the reason why these three presidents are here. ย โTheyโre going to be meeting with a number of the multilateral institutions — the IMF and World Bank here in Washington. ย Thereโs the challenge of restoring markets and agricultural growth, promoting investment and development. ย โSo Iโm going to be looking forward to hearing from them on how the United States can stand shoulder to shoulder with them to work hard to take this crisis and turn it into an opportunity to rebuild even stronger than before: ย To strengthen administrative systems, public health system;ย ย to continue the work that theyโve done in rooting out corruption, reinforcing democratic institutions — all of which will be the foundation stones for long-term progress and prosperity.”
โSo Madam President, Mr. Presidents, we are very grateful for the hard work that youโve done. ย Weโre proud to partner with you and we intend to see this through until the job is done.
Thank you, everybody, ” Obama concluded.
