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| Foreign Minister Augustine K. Ngafuan |
Monrovia,
October 1, 2014: Liberia has delivered its address to
the United Nations General Assembly as Foreign Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan
outlined to the 69th Session of the world body the country's huge economic
challenge occasioned by the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus while also
offering the country's hope in overcoming the virus.
Foreign Minister Ngafuan delivered the address on
Monday, September 29 on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who, he said,
chose to remain on the frontlines in Liberia to lead the country's fight
against the virus.
A Foreign Ministry
release quotes the Foreign Minister as saying that Ebola has slowed the
country's economy, creating a 3.4% downward slide in economic
growth, from a high of 5.9% to a low of 2.5% in 2014.
"And some experts have predicted that, if not
contained quickly, Ebola could cause a 12% decline in our economy in 2015", he added, stating that Liberia's ability to
provide for basic social services and efforts to fund key development projects are
being significantly diminished.
He said that as a result of the slowdown in economic
activities, Liberia's revenue generation capacity has been seriously undermined
resulting in a nearly 20% downward revision of Liberia's budget for Fiscal Year
2014/2015.
Citing the sad tale of a ten-year old kid from Barkedu, Lofa County, who
he said is the “last person standing” in a family of twelve, the Foreign Minister
told the UN General Assembly that Ebola has widened its deadly circumference
and is creating a trail of traumatized orphans across the country.
Comparing the destructive Liberian Civil War to the
devastating Ebola virus, Minister Ngafuan noted that unlike the war years
during which time Liberians knew the warring factions and the frontlines, Ebola is an enemy he described as 'more
insidious' which has no clear-cut frontlines because someone’s child, someone’s
husband, someone’s workmate could actually be the enemy and the frontline at
the same time.
He then,
however, outlined series of steps the Liberian Government has taken since the
Ebola outbreak, including the declaration of a state of emergency, suspension
of schools, the constructive involvement of all stakeholders including pastors,
imams, chiefs, elders, youths, government officials and opposition politicians,
the stepping-up of awareness and prevention campaigns to address the
crystallized denial and deeply rooted traditional and cultural practices that
create a fertile ground for the spread of the disease, and committing to
significant portions of the country's own paltry resources to the fight.
The release adds
that the Foreign Minister used the occasion to express the country's gratitude
to the international community including the UN Secretary-General and leaders
of friendly countries and institutions he said through separate and joint
appeals of the Heads of State of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been
showing a better understanding and deeper appreciation of the unprecedented
scope and magnitude of the Ebola outbreak in the three most affected countries.
He then applauded the US government’s decision to
scale up assistance to the region, including its deployment of 3,000 military
and medical specialist personnel to
build treatment centers, train health personnel and provide other types of much
needed support to Liberia and other affected countries, the Security Council's adoption
of resolution 2177 which was co-sponsored by a record-breaking 134 countries
and recognized the Ebola crisis as a threat to international peace and security
and the UN Secretary-Genera's announcement of his intention to establish the UN
Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
He also gave recognition to the African Union (AU)'s
deployment of contingents of medical and relevant personnel drawn from across
Africa to Liberia and other worst-affected countries, relaxation of travel
restrictions by some Member States and the announcement of the resumption of
flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone by Air Cote D’Ivoire within a week, and of
Kenya Airways hopefully sometime in October and the announcement of
contributions and the airlifting of critically needed protective equipment and
supplies to Liberia and other affected countries by many governments,
international NGOs, corporations, and philanthropists.
"The expressions of solidarity have taken many
forms and we are deeply grateful for all of them", Minister Ngafuan noted.
A hopeful
Minister Ngafuan then told the global gathering of the country's optimism to
defeat the virus: "Instead, President Sirleaf and the resilient people of
Liberia feel that the Ebola epidemic has presented us with a one-option,
multiple-choice test; and that option
is to fight back! And we are fighting
back."
Though he
acknowledged that the road ahead may be long, curvy, and hilly, but with
bigger, bolder, timely and sustained efforts on Liberia's part, buttressed by
the international community, "we are sure that dawn will soon break on this
long, dark, night occasioned by the Ebola Virus Disease."
On global
extremist ideologies and terrorist activities, the Foreign Minister, on behalf
of the Liberian Government, expressed
increasing concern about their spread in the world, especially in Africa.
He continued:
"Whether it is Al-Shabab in
Somalia and Kenya; Al Qaeda in the
Mahgreb or Boko Haram in Nigeria, the
African continent has not been spared the deadly and destructive consequences
of extremism. Additionally, over the
past year, while peace processes were being consolidated in many countries in
Africa, we have sadly witnessed the eruption or exacerbation of conflicts on
the continent, notably in South Sudan and the Central African Republic."
By:
Horatio Bobby Willie
Assistant
Foreign Minister/Public Affairs