Security Council hears Liberia briefing as country anticipates being declared ‘Ebola-free’

UNITED NATIONS NEWS CENTRE                          May 5, 2015
Liberia is expected to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) within the week if no more new cases of the disease are discovered before then, the top United Nations official in Liberia said Tuesday  as she briefed the Security Councl.

Karin Landgren, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia and Head of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Mark Garten

“After almost 14 months spent under the cloud of Ebola, this will be joyful news for the country,” said Karin Landgren, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Liberia. “Liberians and their Government, with support from the UN and ineternational partners, have gotten firmly ahead of the epidemic. Now, all Liberians must remain vigilant.”

She pointed out that the UN Mission for Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER) had closed its doors and transferred residual tasks to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and to UN agencies but stressed that despite these positives, the outbreak had demonstrated the “underlying fragility” of Liberia.

“It is remarkable that eight months later, it is Liberia, among the three affected countries, that appears poised to be declared Ebola-free,” she said, making reference to Guinea and Sierra Leone. “Now is the time to address factors which conrtributed to Ebola’s spread, in particular, weak social service delivery, lack of accountability and overly centralized Government.”

Red full report.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50779#.VUof5pO1f8w