President Sirleaf: Ebola Faded Liberia's Hopes

Each death faded the hopes of the nation, the President said

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has thanked the United States on behalf of the Liberian Government and people for the depth of friendship, remarkable partnership and exemplary leadership which they showed in joining Liberia on the front lines of the battle against the deadly Ebola virus disease.

Speaking at an event hosted by Congressman Chris Coons and the U.S. Institute of Peace on Capitol Hill on February 25, 2015, the Liberian leader  also expressed thanks on behalf of brothers and sisters of neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, two other countries worst affected by the Ebola virus disease.

According to the Executive Mansion, President Sirleaf reflected on the history of the Ebola crisis and its impact on the Liberian nation and people and the West African sub-region, particularly the three worst affected countries.

“Overstretched and over-tasked, our health system collapsed and our doctors and nurses, without proper protective gear, died treating the sick and needy for what they believed to be known as common diseases such as malaria and yellow fever.

“With each painful death, the hopes of the nation, only recently generated after years of war and destruction, faded, to be replaced by understandable doubt and fear,” she told her audience.

She recalled that the international predictions were grim and terrifying with a particular prediction suggesting that before the end of January, 2015, at least 20,000 of West African citizens would die every month in the three affected countries.

The country’s economy, according to President Sirleaf, froze and nose-dived into recession, threatening to reverse the progress Liberia worked hard to achieve with airlines stopping commercial flights, trade and travel routes suspended, contractors folded and left and Liberians experiencing the chilling effect of stigmatization.

“It was at this precarious moment, early in August, that I reached out to the government and people of the United States of America. I wrote President Obama asking for America’s support and called my friends in Congress,” President Sirleaf reflected.

She also recalled calls to Senators Jeff Flake and Patrick Leahy, Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Congresswoman Karen Baas, Chairman Ed Royce and dozens of Congressional staffers.

With all such efforts, she pointed out, America did not run from Liberia, but responded. As America and its people continue to do with many of the global challenges, President Sirleaf remembered that America stood up, and stood with Liberia, providing the critical resources and partnership to enable the country fight back. “And this exactly what the Liberian people did,” she narrated.

The Liberian leader informed the Congressional occasion that community leaders and members, religious leaders, tribal chiefs, women and youth groups, businesses, civil society organizations, political leaders across Liberia’s 15 counties fought back and the country is today reclaiming the future once threatened by the deadly Ebola virus disease.

Though not yet out of the woods, President Sirleaf indicated that Ebola is no longer an unknown predator hunting the Liberian people, attributing the success also to the America Government and people.

“From the White House, both Houses of Congress, and both sides of the aisle, America responded. If I had the time, I would go door to door thanking all 535 members of Congress, but I hope these expressions of gratitude reach all of you wherever you may be,” she noted.

President Sirleaf also thanked President Obama for his leadership and for sending Tom Frieden, the Director of the Center for Disease Control, to Liberia and observed that the decision to do so was perhaps the single most influential event that awakened the world to the scope and magnitude of  the virulent spread of the disease in West Africa.

She was thanked the USAID DART Team for their assistance in setting up an integrated command and the many U.S. implementing partners, the First Responders, who reached beyond their fear and ran toward danger, as well the U.S. Embassy in Liberia and Ambassador Deborah Malac for their steadfast support and continued compassion.

“Liberians know that it was the leadership of the Obama Administration, supported by Congress that allowed the disease to stabilize in Liberia and encouraged the rest of the world to a global crisis,” President Sirleaf said.

She pointed out that it was with the support of partners like America and others that great progress has been made in containing the virus and continuing with effort to chase the very last chain of transmission.

President Sirleaf urged Liberians to resist complacency and emphasized that her government was determined to “get to zero cases by April 15, 2015 in keeping with an agreement reached recently at a Mano River Union Summit.

The Liberian leader recounted the number of healthcare workers killed by the virus, the scope of orphans created, the number of other citizens and residents killed and the survivors who need care, attention and support.

She pointed out that the cost for containing the virus has been extremely high – and too high for many grieving families and the recovering nation to bear. She recounted her address to the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on March 16, 2006 when she committed to paying any price to lay the foundation for durable peace in Liberia.

“From that point to date, Ebola struck after ten years of sustained peace, during which the country saw an average annual growth of 7 percent, experienced a reduction in the infant mortality rate, increased life expectancy by 17 additional years and the relieving of the country’s external debts. We must now return to rebuilding Liberia’s peace and prosperity, even as we eliminate the treat of Ebola,” she stressed.

She said it would require updating the healthcare system, including early warning system that integrates the public and private sectors and revising the existing 10-year Health Plan with a focus on training to build and strengthen capacities that were lost when many of the country’s frontline healthcare workers died during the epidemic.

“We are transitioning now from treatment to prevention with the support of over 100 partners from 26 countries and are determined to fill the gaps in the healthcare system. There is an inherent link between healthcare systems revitalization, economic recovery and peace building, which is stronger now than ever before.

“Therefore, Liberia’s post-Ebola economic recovery, while continuing to accelerate improvements in infrastructure – roads, electricity and WATSAN operations, will prioritize healthcare delivery revitalization,” President Sirleaf emphasized.

She committed to investment in the agriculture sector for food security and job creation and announced that Liberia will work closely with USAID partners to address the immediate issues of food security and longer term program to develop a robust agriculture sector capable of feeding the nation.

She concluded by promising to tap into Liberian entrepreneurship in accelerating a private-sector led revival of the formal and informal sectors of the economy and commended the Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group (EPSMG) for their role in the ebola response and now encourage them to maintain their critical place at the table in the ebola recovery.