ECOWAS CALLS FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION AGAINST EBOLA.
In a statement by the ECOWAS Commission on Wednesday in Abuja, the
Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Mrs. Salamatu
Suleiman is quoted as saying that the disease would have grave and devastating consequences on the region, if not adequately addressed.She said this in her address to the 34th Ordinary Session of
the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff, which opened in Accra,
Ghana on Tuesday.
Suleiman
called for collective efforts in assisting and supporting member states
whose populations are facing the menace of this dangerous disease and
the contribution of the CCDS in battling the health crisis.
The
Commissioner outlined various intervention measures taken by the
Commission in combating the disease, including the setting up of a
Solidarity Fund coupled with multi-stakeholder collaborations to beat
the health emergency.
She noted
that the region had in the past two years witnessed challenging crises
in Mali and Guinea Bissau as well as terrorism, piracy and other
criminal acts in the Gulf of Guinea.
She paid
tribute to the out-going CCDS Chairman Gen. Soumaila Bakayoko of Cote
d’Ivoire “who played a critical role in guiding ECOWAS interventions
towards resolving these crises.”
The Commissioner also welcomed the incoming CCDS Chairman, Admiral Mathew Quashie of Ghana.
Opening
the meeting, Ghana’s Minister of Defence, Dr. Benjamin Kubuor described
the Ebola menace as a very worrying situation that requires the
collective efforts of all.
He said,
“It is for this reason that the Chairman of ECOWAS, H.E John Dramani
Mahama, (the President of Ghana), has made Accra, Ghana the distribution
point for the supply of Ebola Support in the sub-region.
“It is for
you Service heads to also use this forum to discuss how you can assist
the civilian population to strategize towards stemming the spread of
this virus.” The minister expressed profound appreciation to the World
Health Organization and other partners for their support in the handling
of the Ebola epidemic.
Handing
the mantle of CCDS leadership to Quashie, Bakayoko, explained that in
tackling the region’s security challenges in the last two years,
including the crises in Mali and Guinea Bissau, the CCDS held a total of
14 extra-ordinary and two ordinary sessions.
