EU: No breakdown for 1.3bn Ebola assistance

The European Union’s Ambassaor to Liberia Ms. Tina Intelmann says it is “not very easy” to do a complete breakdown for the organization’s total Ebola assistance of 1.3bn Euros to the hardest-hit West African states of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

More than eleven thousand victims died of the disease in the three countries since spreading from Guinea in early 2014, but the World Health Organization in May declared Liberia Ebola free ahead of Guinea and Sierra Leone that are still transitioning from widespread transmission towards being declared Ebola-freed.

Liberia had the highest recorded Ebola- confirmed deaths during the crisis that drew the world’s attention, with foreign governments and international organizations such as the EU, US, UN, AU, ECOWAS, China and the UK, among others, sending in financial and technical assistance to help eradicate the virus here.

In her interaction with talk-show hosts on Friday, June 5 on Truth 96.1 Fm in Paynesville, outside Monrovia, Ms Intelmann told the Truth Breakfast Show audience that in monetary terms, if all of EU’s activities were calculated, they would total 1.3bn Euros for the three affected countries combined.

But as to how much came to Liberia out of the 1.3bn Euros Ebola assistance, she was “not able to say concretely because some of that money also went to research- to do things that were bit broader than just bring something to Liberia.”

When the question was rephrased as to the breakdown of how much money went to each of the countries, Ms Intelman said: “sometimes it’s not possible to do that,” explaining that sometimes you give money to World Health Organization and other UN organizations, “and it’s not very easy to do a concrete breakdown.”

The EU Envoy to Liberia recalled a lot of assistance that she went to organizations like the French Charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in the anti-Ebola response effort, funding of one of the Ebola Treatment Units here and also providing support for one of the bigger issues –immigration of medical personnel.

She noted that the EU’s post-Ebola plan for Liberia is to get back to development- first the restoration of the health sector, before naming infrastructure and education as long terms issues on the table for Liberia.

She indicated that the EU looks to see the Liberian Government built on the assets that left here, including the ETUs, medical equipment to use them so generously to the benefit of the public. By Winston W. Parley – Edited by George Barpeen