UNMEER SRSG Pleads for Regional- Collaboration to Battle Ebola

THE DAILY OBSERVER   by Gloria T. Tamba                                                        Jan. 8, 2015

(Two stories. Scroll down.)

MONROVIA -The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has called on the Liberian government, as well as other Ebola-affected countries, for regional collaboration to battle the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)....

Head of UNMEER Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (second right) meets in Monrovia with Special Representative for Liberia, Karin Landgren (second left), to discuss cooperation on Ebola between the two UN entities. Photo: UNMEER/Simon Ruf

According to him, Liberia has made great progress in the fight against the deadly virus, but said that a lot needs to be done. He called on health authorities of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the three hardest hit Ebola-affected countries in West Africa, to carry on regional collaboration by handling Ebola matters in a unique way that could eradicate the killer virus.

He asserted that his vision is that the governments of the three countries take the eradication of the virus seriously, making it a government-led effort while coordinating with international partners, which could be another means to ensure success in eradicating the killer disease.

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http://www.liberianobserver.com/news-development/unmeer-srsg-pleads-regional-collaboration-battle-ebola

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In Liberia, UN Ebola mission chief commends progress, warns against ‘complacency’

UNITED NATIONS NEWS CENTRE                                 Jan. 8, 2015

MONROVIA --On his first tour of Ebola-stricken Liberia, the newly appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) today outlined his vision to tackle the scourge in what he called a “3C approach” which he described as recognizing the vital roles of “countries, communities and coordination.”

Briefing journalists at Spryggs Airport in Monrovia, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed described his first impression of the situation on the ground as “mixed.” On the one hand, he begins his post with “a lot of optimism,” but on the other hand, he recognizes mounting challenges to end Ebola.

“We are not yet there. There is certainly still a lot to be done for Liberia to be claimed free [of Ebola],” he said, expressing concern that successes and optimism may provoke a “degree of complacency.”

Red complete release.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49746#.VK6JwXu1f8w