KEY POINTS
SRSG Banbury concluded his farewell visit to the three most affected countries in Sierra Leone from 30 to 31 December.
In New Year’s Address, President Koroma calls for continued vigilance, and announces the planned reopening of schools in Sierra Leone.
A WFP - chartered helicopter is now operational in Conakry to be used for humanitarian personnel medical evacuation.
Key Political and Economic Developments
SRSG Banbury con cluded his farewell visit to the three most affected countries in Sierra Leone from to 31 December. He travelled to Bombali District, where he met with members of the District Ebola Response Center and visited three Ebola Treatment Units as well as a Community Care Center.
He also met with President Ernest Bai Koroma in Freetown to commend him for his leadership and engagement on the Ebola crisis. The President thanked UNMEER for the support provided to date, noting its positive impact on the ground. He expressed his hope that Sierra Leone, with the support of the international community, will be able to fully contain the Ebola outbreak b y mid - 2015 and pursue the economic agenda that had been set.In his New Year’s Day A ddress, President Ernest Bai Koroma called on the country to begin a week of fasting and prayers to end the Ebola outbreak. The President urged people not to touch the sick or corpses and not to disobey quarantine orders. The President also indicated that schools, which have been closed since July due to the outbreak, would reopen soon