ISLAMABAD: Senior UN officials warned Friday that economies of the Ebola-hit countries have experienced significant setbacks, and called for enhanced and coordinated international support for the recovery efforts.
"The international response to date has been unprecedented in its speed and generosity, but much more will be asked before this emergency is over," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a special meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on " Ebola: A threat to sustainable development" Xinhua news reports Saturday.
While Ebola virus has killed more than 6,000 people, he said, many more have died as fragile health systems have collapsed. The deadly virus has also disrupted education, agriculture, industry and commerce. More than 3,300 children have been orphaned.
The UN chief noted that the social and economic impact of the Ebola crisis in West Africa has been broad and deep and would long outlast the outbreak."Before the Ebola outbreak, the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone were vibrant and growing. Now they are weak and stagnant."
"The people and Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have suffered much and shown great resilience. They are counting on the international community to help end the Ebola outbreak and support their swift and full recovery," said Ban.
ECOSOC President Martin Sajdik, who convened the meeting, said Council members stand ready to help mobilize all partners, including a network of non-governmental organizations, to ensure that economic and social recovery efforts help stabilize the worst-affected countries and strengthen their preparedness to prevent future outbreaks.
"While the Security Council and the General Assembly are focused on mobilizing international support for stopping the outbreak in the short-term, the ECOSOC must begin to plan for a post-Ebola response that will ensure that the affected countries do not fall too far off track from progress already achieved towards the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals)," Sajdik said.
David Nabarro, Ban's Special Envoy on Ebola, briefed on the current state of the epidemic based on his just concluded visit to Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone, with the total number of cases now reaching 17,517 and deaths amounting to 6,187, according to the latest statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Nabarro said even as the fight to eliminate Ebola continues, the world should pay attention to helping the affected societies build back what they have lost, which involves building local capacity of national health workers by integrating them in the response.
According to the latest report released by the World Bank, economies of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone had been vibrant and growing rapidly in recent years, and into the first half of this year. Projected 2014 growth in Liberia is now 2.2 percent, down from 5.9 percent before the crisis, while Sierra Leone is now expected to grow 4.0 percent this year, down from 11.3 percent before the crisis. Growth in Guinea this year is now forecast to be 0.5 percent, as compared with 4.5 percent before the crisis.
Comments
Comments are closed.