CDC Coming Back

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says the U.S. Center for Disease Control or CDC scientists are coming back to country to conduct some research on the Ebola disease.

She said this is because there are measures that doctors here do not fully understand. “The whole disease is being researched because [there are dimensions] to it that our own doctors do not fully understand; so CDC is coming back … just to do some research on that,” President Sirleaf said

Thursday, 26 November, while receiving the letters of credence from the Canadian Ambassador, followed by five other ambassadors. Liberia has been hit once again by renewed outbreak of the deadly virus with one casualty so far.

A few confirmed cases have been placed at the ELWA Ebola Treatment Unit, while contacts are in quarantine. On Thursday, six ambassadors were scheduled to present letters of credence to President Sirleaf, including Ms. Patricia McCullagh of Canada, Mohammed Abdellahi El Vilaly of Mauritania, Ms. Pirjo Soumela-Chowdhury of Finland, Babikir Elsiddig Mohammed Elamin of the Republic of Sudan, as well as Israel’s Emmanuel Mehl and Mexico’s Marie de los Angeles Aguirre.

During her interactions with the ambassadors at separate occasions yesterday, Mrs. Sirleaf said the recent outbreak of Ebola here “is well contained,” saying it affected one small family after a mother believed to be a carrier passed it on to her son who had been taking care of her.

She said Liberia now has the capacity to contain Ebola, and this would be another example of Liberia proving to the world that the country can manage the virus.

According to the President, the mother has now become Ebola-negative, while she and the father of the fallen son and others are doing well in the ETU.

She said 138 contracts have already been identified so far, placed in quarantine and supported so that they do not leave.

Welcoming the ambassadors separately Thursday, President Sirleaf recalled the bilateral relations and partnerships between their countries and Liberia.

She noted that Liberia’s economy was growing until in 2013 when it had its first hit due to global price fall that affected the country’s major exports – iron ore and rubber- which also coincided with the worst-ever Ebola outbreak in 2014 that devastated the economy here.

Though she said there were economic constraints in the post-Ebola recovery here, the government was, however, ensuring that the health system has the resilience to contain health crisis.

“We will join you in the international community on the sustainable development plans that have been adopted and now the implementation is going to be the critical part of it. And our large delegation isstarting to move to Paris for climate change where we expect the negotiations to be very tough,” she said yesterday in conversation with Finland Ambassador Ms. Pirjo Soumela-Chowdhury.

She indicated that Liberia contains 42 percent of the biodiversity in the West African region because most of the other countries had destroyed their trees at the time Liberia was facing a period of sanction.

The ambassadors expressed pleasure for the reception and assured the President of a good working relationship with her and her government in deepening the bilateral relations.

Ambassador Chowdhury commended Liberia for tackling Ebola, saying everybody knows it was a very big challenge, adding that everybody is confident that the new outbreak will be contained.

Canadian Ambassador Ms. Patricia McCullagh said in terms of economic growth … in spite of quite significant setback in the country, there were very interesting opportunities here that attract investment, as well as infrastructure development, among others.

By Winston W. Parley-Edited by George Barpeen