Michael Elliott, President and CEO of The ONE Campaign, said:

“Nearly two years since the outbreak began, we are delighted that Liberia and West Africa are now officially certified free of Ebola transmission. This is a hard-earned, but difficult, milestone given the unnecessary loss of so many lives to this disease.  We honour the heroism of the many health workers, community leaders, and volunteers from around the world who risked their own lives to bring this outbreak to a close.  We are also proud that hundreds of thousands of our ONE members, from Los Angeles to Lagos, took action in support of an urgent global response.

“But we need to remember: the world’s initial response to the Ebola outbreak was woeful – haphazard, uncoordinated, and desperately lacking leadership. That is why today must not be the end of our commitment to West Africa and its citizens—particularly those who survived Ebola or who lost loved ones.  The outbreak served as a stark reminder of how important resilient health systems are and why delayed action allows infectious diseases to flourish.

“ONE’s Ebola Response Tracker also highlighted the importance of using data to hold donors to account for their commitments. Even as Ebola fades from the headlines, donors must deliver on their emergency and recovery commitments in full to ensure that Ebola-affected nations can make up for lost ground and make progress in global health. And we must look to future opportunities, from the Global Fund’s 2016 replenishment to annual budget fights, as chances to make good on our promise. It is crucial we learn lessons from the Ebola crisis and strengthen health systems across all developing countries, so we can be ready the next time Ebola, or another disease, breaks out.”

 

Notes:

• WHO announced Liberia as free from Ebola transmission http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/ebola-zero-liberia/en/
• ONE launched an Ebola Response tracker to monitor donor commitments http://www.one.org/us/ebola-tracker/
• The Global Fund is an international partnership organisation dedicated to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/
• ONE’s 2015 World AIDS Day Report highlighted the significance of replenishing the Global Fund to see an end to the AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics by 2030. For the report: one.org/aids