The world has a stake in fight against Ebola

What you need to know:

  • I have every faith in our resilience as Liberians, and our capacity as global citizens, to face down this disease, beat it, and rebuild.
  • It is the duty of all of us to send a message that we will not leave millions of West Africans to fend for themselves.

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 that 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 11 years ago. It destroyed our public infrastructure, crushed our economy, and led to an exodus of educated professionals.

A country that had 3,000 qualified doctors at the start of the war was dependent by its end on barely three dozen.

ERASE HARD WORK

In the past few years, Liberia was bouncing back. We realised there was a long way to go, but the future was looking bright.

Now Ebola threatens to erase that hard work. 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 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 realised it 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.

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 to send a message that we will not leave millions of West Africans to fend for themselves.

The time for talking or theorising 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 

Readers are invited to send their opinion and commentary articles to [email protected].