Recovery Plan for Ebola-Hit Countries to Be Unveiled in February

UNITED NATIONS, January 19 (Sputnik) — The Ebola Recovery assessment for Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Liberia hit by the virus outbreak is being jointly undertaken by its governments in close collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union, the World Bank, and the African Development Bank and will be defined by the end of February, the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support with the UN Development Programme told RIA Novosti.

"We are hoping that we can have a coherent support strategy by the end of February, based on the recovery priorities and plans of the Governments of these countries. This effort is part of the response of the Secretary General to a request by the Governments of these countries for the international community to work on recovery dimensions, of this crisis, alongside the ongoing medical emergency response. The Secretary General is ready to undertake global advocacy in support of socio-economic recovery in these countries," Stan Nkwain said.

In December 2014, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Mali. While there, he discussed with the Heads of State the need to embark on socio-economic recovery in these Ebola-stricken nations.

Nkwain said that representatives from UN agencies, the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank will be partnering with other key partners, such as the African Union, the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), the Manu River Union and civil society organizations to support the recovery strategies and plans that the three most affected countries have put forth.

"We have to work to make sure that any support we are providing is led by the government and that all relevant institutions are on board. The three most affected countries have expressed their commitment to lead these efforts as they realize how important it will be to work towards becoming Ebola-free while also helping their people resume their normal lives," the deputy director said.

The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) is already working in West African countries, making efforts to meet immediate needs of the local population related to the fight against the current Ebola outbreak. The mission, however, is not tasked with working out an economic recovery plan for the region.

"If we don't start thinking about recovery right away, it might be [too] late. We don't know when we are going to get to "zero cases" scenario, and it might take some time. Working on early recovery now can ensure that survivors and affected households and communities can start to regain their livelihoods," Nkwain said.

He added that four clusters requiring attention have been identified where national recovery needs have been expressed, including health, water and sanitation; infrastructure and basic services; socio-economic revitalization; peacebuilding, social cohesion, institutions and core government functions; with a particular focus on gender and youth.

Speaking of rebuilding trust between authorities and the people, Nkwain noted that, "all of these three countries are post conflict countries in the sense [that] Liberia, Sierra-Leone are post civil war countries and Guinea had just come out of a very difficult political transition. All of them had already embarked on peacebuilding and had achieved impressive rates of growth before the Ebola crisis struck," he emphasized.

He added that without economic support, countries hit by Ebola will need a very long time to recover, which is why the UN Secretary General is willing to lead international advocacy to provide the support needed.

"The recovery effort will require new resources and new investments in the short, medium and long term to make sure that countries are, in the future, better positioned and equipped to recover from shocks," he said.

Nkwain said that it was too early to estimate how much socio-economic recovery would cost in all three countries, although it will be substantial if the countries are to recover effectively.

The deadly Ebola virus disease has killed 8,468 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with the number of confirmed cases reaching 21,373, the World Health Organization said Friday in its new situation report. The UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response said in a report last Thursday that the weekly total of new confirmed Ebola virus disease cases had declined to its lowest in recent months.