Sierra Leone is among 17 countries across the world that will benefit from a $1bn package aimed at promoting a global health agenda by the United States government in response to the world`s worst Ebola epidemic, according to a White House release on Tuesday.
“The U.S. Government is now announcing its intent to invest more than $1bn in resources to expand the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) to prevent, detect, and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks in 17 countries, and will continue to work in others around the world to extend this effort”, the release reads in part.
The 17 partner countries were listed as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda, as well as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam.
More than half of that significant investment would be focused on Africa “to prevent or mitigate the impact of naturally-occurring outbreaks and intentional or accidental releases of dangerous pathogens, rapidly detect and transparently report outbreaks when they occur and employ an interconnected global network that can respond rapidly and effectively”.
The White House noted that in each of those countries, host governments would partner with the United States to establish a five-year country roadmap to achieve and sustain each of the said targets of the global health security agenda.
“These roadmaps are intended to enable a better understanding across sectors and assistance providers of the specific milestones, next steps, and gaps toward achieving capacity needed to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats”, the statement said.
The epidemic in West Africa, especially in the three countries – Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia - worst affected in the Mano River Union basin, continues to galvanize global attention and resources as the international community strives to eliminate active cases and help the affected countries recover.
“As announced during the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit and to further advance the GHSA, the United States is partnering with the African Union Commission to support the establishment of an African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which will build on our longstanding commitment for a growing and diversifying health and science sector in Africa,” the release said, adding that the US was also supporting the development of National Public Health Institutes in several African countries including Ethiopia and Kenya.
As the Ebola outbreak in West Africa reached epidemic levels in September 2014, the White House hosted a high level meeting with 44 countries to announce over 100 commitments to strengthen capabilities under the GHSA.
The White House announcement, on Tuesday 28 July, 2015, to boost global health agenda comes nearly two weeks after UN pledging conference on Ebola and just few days after President Ernest Bai Koroma launched the country’s post Ebola recovery plan in Freetown.
“The generosity of the international community in supporting our recovery plans has been overwhelming. On behalf of the Government and the people of Sierra Leone, let me wholeheartedly thank our partners for their commitment to us and for restoring our country back to the path of prosperity”.
He applauded the scale of commitments made in New York earlier this month where a total of $804.2 million was pledged directly to Sierra Leone.
“This is great confidence reposed in the Government of Sierra Leone, and the plans we have to defeat Ebola and ensure recovery,” the president told the gathering at the Miatta Conference Hall last week.
He added that there were further $1.7 bn in pledges for regional support, some of which would directly benefit the recovery process, while a total of $3.4 bn was pledged for the region.
The president, however, promised openness and addressed the issue of accountable and judicious use of the proposed funding, in direct response to doubtful public perceptions about corruption in government’s management of public funds.
“Mutual accountability should be a key watchword in this engagement. Being guided by this principle requires open communications about what everyone is doing here in Sierra Leone to support the recovery and where and to whom resources are being allocated and how those efforts are aligned specially to our post Ebola recovery plan. Nothing must be hidden, and all must be accountable”, he promised.
The devastating impact of the Ebola crisis has already been laid bare by many reports, including revelations earlier this year that more than 12,000 children had been orphaned by the disease in Sierra Leone.
As at early this week the ministry of Health and Sanitation reported on its website that since the first case of Ebola was reported in Sierra Leone in May last year some 3, 585 people had died. The statistics show 4,043 had survived the disease among cumulative confirmed cases of 8,695.
(C) Politico 29/07/15
