Liberian President Writes To The World On Ebola

Liberian President Writes To

The World On Ebola

Liberia has suffered the worst of the current Ebola outbreak

and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has written a touching

letter to the world to ask for help and support

Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has written a

touching letter to the world to ask for help in putting an end

to the Ebola outbreak which has brought her country to its

knees.

The current outbreak has been described by the World

Health Organization as the worst ever and it has claimed

the lives of over 2000 Liberians.

The president’s letter was read on radio and transmitted all

over the world. Read it below:

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.

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Posted by Donatus Joshua at 02:21