Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf has taken the bull by its horns
over the Ebola crisis rocking the
country.
President Sirleaf
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wrote a heartbreaking
letter to the world over the Ebola epidemic in her
country. A letter which was broadcasted on the radio
and transmitted worldwide, where she made it
known sadly how, just like the Civil war the country
faced that took away many of the citizens of the
country, the Ebola Virus Disease has done much
more.
Ebola patient being carried away while his relative
cries
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
She talked extensively on how for the 11 years the
civil war lasted, lots of Liberians died, the economy
and vital institutions of the country got crumbled
amongst others. Urging the international community
to act fast instead of all the unending theoretical
explanations, the president made it known how her
country, alongside Sierra Leone and Guinea badly
need great help.
Below is the heartbreaking letter:
Dear World,
In just over six months, Ebola has
managed to bring my country to a
standstill. We have lost over 2,000
Liberians. Some are children struck
down in the prime of their youth.
Some were fathers, mothers, brothers
or best friends. Many were brave
health workers that risked their lives
to save others, or simply offer victims
comfort in their final moments.
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. In Liberia, our
civil war ended only eleven years
ago. It destroyed our public
infrastructure, crushed our economy
and led to an exodus of educated
professionals. A country that had
some 3,000 qualified doctors at the
start of the war was dependent by its
end on barely three dozen. In the last
few years, Liberia was bouncing back.
We realized there was a long way to
go, but the future was looking bright.
Now Ebola threatens to erase that
hard work. Our economy was set to
be larger and stronger this year,
offering more jobs to Liberians and
raising living standards. Ebola is not
just a health crisis – across West
Africa, a generation of young people
risk being lost to an economic
catastrophe as harvests are missed,
markets are shut and borders are
closed.
The virus has been able to spread so
rapidly because of the insufficient
strength of the emergency, medical
and military services that remain
under-resourced and without the
preparedness to confront such a
challenge. This would have been the
case whether the confrontation was
with Ebola, another infectious
disease, or a natural disaster.
But one thing is clear. This is a fight
in which the whole world has a stake.
This disease respects no borders.
The damage it is causing in West
Africa, whether in public health, the
economy or within communities – is
already reverberating throughout the
region and across the world.
The international reaction to this
crisis was initially inconsistent and
lacking in clear direction or urgency.
Now finally, the world has woken up.
The community of nations has
realized they cannot simply pull up
the drawbridge and wish this
situation away.
This fight requires a commitment
from every nation that has the
capacity to help – whether that is
with emergency funds, medical
supplies or clinical expertise.
I have every faith in our resilience as
Liberians, and our capacity as global
citizens, to face down this disease,
beat it and rebuild. History has
shown that when a people are at their
darkest hour, humanity has an
enviable ability to act with bravery,
compassion and selflessness for the
benefit of those most in need.
From governments to international
organisations, financial institutions to
NGOs, politicians to ordinary people
on the street in any corner of the
world, we all have a stake in the
battle against Ebola. 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 time for talking or theorizing is
over. Only concerted action will save
my country, and our neighbours, from
experiencing another national
tragedy. The words of Henrik Ibsen
have never been truer: “A thousand
words leave not the same deep
impression as does a single deed.
Yours sincerely,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Meanwhile, in a determined fight to manage the
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which has killed no fewer
than 4,400 people, the United Nations atomic agency
has made its plans to provide West African countries
hit by the disease with a nuclear-related technology
to help faster diagnosis known.
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