MONROVIA, Montserrado – In a nationwide address on Wednesday, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf urged Liberians to always unite in the midst of challenges, as the country had done during the Ebola crisis. She used the speech to outline efforts to maintain Liberia’s progress against Ebola. She also summarized her post-Ebola recovery strategy.

Sirleaf noted that, in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus, Liberians had united and adopted new behaviors, some of which ran counter to long-held traditional beliefs and religious practices.

Sirleaf continued, “We reported no new case of the deadly Ebola virus… showing to the world that it is possible to fight the disease and eliminate it from Liberia and the Mano River Union region.”

The MRU region was the worst affected by the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with 25,152 cases and 10,444 deaths reported in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone as of April 1, 2015.

New and confirmed Ebola cases in Mano River Union countries as of April 1, 2015. Source: World Health Organization

Sirleaf added that Liberia had gone 28 days without a new case, attributing the accomplishment to the “trust and confidence, as well as the vigilance and fortitude” that Liberians had in her. Guinea and Sierra Leone have struggled to have similar success.

In her speech, Sirleaf mentioned the setback the country faced when on March 25, a Liberian tested positive for the virus and subsequently died.

She said the government has started a new countdown. To date, there have been no new cases reported and officials are continuing contact tracing.

She expressed her confidence in the Incident Management System team’s ability to contain and bring the outbreak to an end.

Keeping in mind the impact the outbreak had on the country’s economy, Sirleaf emphasized that Liberia would work with its partners to implement the Post-Ebola Recovery Program.

The World Bank released a report in February that said 41 percent of individuals who were employed at the beginning of the Ebola outbreak were still out of work. The report also said that 65 percent of farmers expected their agricultural output to be lower this year compared to previous years.

Sirleaf said the rebuilding of the health system was a primary concern after its vulnerabilities were exposed by the Ebola outbreak.

Part of the rebuilding would include a ten-year training program for healthcare professionals, “improving and expanding services at primary and secondary healthcare centers, as well as upgrading county hospitals and establishing three regional hospitals.”

She commended the brave Liberian healthcare workers who played an important role in going beyond the requirements of their duties to save lives.

Sirleaf’s complete speech can be found here.

Photo: Vaner Casaes / AGECOM