WACSI Calls for Appointment of Special ECOWAS Envoy on Ebola

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#Civil #Society Statement on the Current #Ebola Crisis in #West #Africa:

A Call for Appointment of #ECOWAS Special Envoy on #Ebola

In light of the current epidemic of the deadly #Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in #West #Africa, we the undersigned civil society organizations call on #ECOWAS member states to appoint a leading, influential, strong and knowledgeable West African physician or health professional as #ECOWAS Special Envoy on #Ebola.

The current epidemic, which has been characterized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the deadliest Ebola outbreak since this virus was discovered in 1976, has claimed the lives of at least 1,552 people in West Africa including many health officials. We applaud and support the brave work of the health officials who continue to put their lives at risk in the care of victims of #Ebola despite very difficult working environment. We stand in solidarity with our brothers, sisters, families, and communities who are battling for their lives and struggling to care for loved ones.

West African economies are feeling the impact of the world's worst outbreak of Ebola. Travel and trade restrictions are limiting the deployment of medical personnel, equipment and commodities adding to the deadly risk that the EVD already poses to the communities and the economies of the affected countries and the region. This epidemic has exposed the challenges of our public health system and our governance institutions.

The recently-released WHO roadmap predicts that 20,000 people may ultimately be infected in this outbreak. Therefore, the challenge ahead is steep and a lot of work has to be done to stem this dangerous situation.

Cross-border coordination and collaboration necessary to stem the spread of Ebola has been haphazard and chaotic. While closure of borders may provide short term relief, it is also an impediment to cross-border technical support and humanitarian assistance and has given rise to new food security challenges.

The challenge of the current epidemic calls for urgent, unified and concerted efforts by ECOWAS and the international community. The emergency meeting of ECOWAS currently being held in Accra provides an opportunity to work out actionable and effective modalities to address the Ebola crisis. The regional body is uniquely positioned to champion a coordinated response.

For these reasons, we urge the appointment of the ECOWAS Special Envoy on Ebola. Such an envoy will help draw attention to the public health and humanitarian challenges posed by Ebola and become a regional voice and leader for a regional response plan led by African and international contributors. The Envoy could also be the voice calling for effective management and coordination of cross-border transportation and logistics. The challenge we face is extraordinary and ECOWAS needs to create a specialized platform to address this.

We urge all ECOWAS member States to push for this resolution and to develop a concrete plan for operationalizing effective coordination. We call on the international community to provide needed assistance in ensuring that the response to Ebola in the region is effective, humane and sustainable.
We acknowledge that the efforts of ECOWAS and the international community can only yield results if residents of the region do their part. Hence, we also urge the populations and all civil society organizations to show more solidarity and be cautious by observing the preventive measures identified by the WHO.

Kindly sign this statement and share with info@wacsi.org for onward action

source: West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)

#EbolaWatch's Kobby Blay Joins "Africa in Focus" to Offer Weekly Updates on Ebola

Join Kobby Blay, Lead of #EbolaWatch every Tuesday
at 13h30 on RadioXYZ93.1FM

by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr, Head of Research & Communications, Africa in Focus Show.

Since 19 August, Kobby Blay, Founder of Ghana Health Nest and Lead of #EbolaWatch  campaign, has been offering timely and relevant updates of everything Ebola on the #EbolaWatch segment on the weekly "Africa in Focus" show.

Kobby's interventions are either by phone or at the studio during the 13h00 to 15h00 slot when the show is airborne.

His concise and brief updates are highly-welcomed by the listening public, and has even attracted the interest of the West Africa Civil Society Institute(WACSI), which invited Kobby, a registered nurse at Korle-Bu hospital, to make a presentation on "the Role of Civil Society in Ebola Prevention". The presentation was made at WACSI's first-ever Ebola Information Session, which was held last week Friday at its headquarters at East Legon.

Catch Kobby every Tuesday on Radio XYZ 93.1fm at 01:30pm for the #EbolaWatch radio edition.

He will share with you all the updates and developments, and address your concerns with the ongoing #EbolaOutbreak..

If you have missed previous editions and you cannot afford to miss the latest coming up on 2 September.

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FEATURE: ECOWAS Finally sets up Ebola Awareness Page

by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr, Head of Research & Communications Unit, Africa in Focus Show

Barely a month after ECOWAS recorded its first fatality at the ECOWAS Lagos Office to Ebola, the regional institution has finally established a website to help respond to staff concerns about the Ebola virus. Dubbed "ECOWAS Health Awareness", the site is in the three official languages of ECOWAS--English; French; and Portuguese--and uses a combination of cartoons and simple language to explain all one needs to know about Ebola.

Under the "All you need to know" tab, there are sections on recognising the virus; preventing it; transmission; and treatment.

On clicking the FAQ tab, one is directed to pertinent questions on Ebola for "ECOWAS"; the "WHO" and the "UN". There is regrettably no information under the UN section, but there are a detailled list of questions under the "ECOWAS" and "WHO" tabs.

Perhaps the most useful part of the site is the "Updates" tab, which is populated by some statistics of deaths recorded since 27 July up to 8 August, 2014. Although the French and Portuguese site have little information, the English site seems to be more up-to-date.

This website comes at a time when many ECOWAS Community citizens have been left wondering what the regional response to the crisis is. Reports that the AU and WHO are actively collaborating to help countries affected by Ebola have left many sceptical as to whether there is actually any ECOWAS Ebola Fund as trumpeted by ECOWAS at the 45th Ordinary Session that was held here in Accra in July.

The West African Health Organisation(WAHO), the regional counterpart to the World Health Organisation, has been found wanting in its response to the crisis. It is only a small news digest about an upcoming emergency meeting in Accra on 28 August that offers some assurance.

According to the WAHO website, the "Extraordinary Meeting of the Assembly of Health Ministers will be devoted to reviewing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the region". The meeting will seek to provide "an update on the implementation of recommendations from the last WHO-sponsored Accra Meeting and the Summit convened by the Heads of State of the Mano River Union."

More than 1,000 people lost their lives to the deadly virus in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria in recent months.

Access the ECOWAS Ebola Awareness site here: http://www.awareness.ecowas.int/

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