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.

Well sorry for the loss. I pray and believe that we all africans will overcome this epidermic.

Ehya....

mmmm

Heart touching letter, I wish I can help physically but all the same God will see ur country through n bring u news that will make u dance shoki

My hrt goes out to Liberia and Liberians,this too shall pass,it's a phase which will not last forever I only hope and pray it is arrested very soon cause too many lives have been lost. God bless Liberia.