KEY POINTS
- President, Ernest Bai Koroma pays surprise visit to national Ebola Situation Center
- EVD situation in Guinea underscores need for continued vigilance to mitigate micro-flare ups
- Response partners support cross-border initiatives
Key Political and Economic Developments
1. On 3 February, President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone paid a surprise visit to the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC)’s Situation Room where he was briefed on response efforts by government officials, UNMEER and UN agencies. The President expressed appreciation for the efforts of the NERC and added that easing of restrictions of movement should not be seen as a sign that the fight against Ebola is over. He underscored the continued need for response efforts as there are still problems with people washing corpses and carrying out unsafe burials in some places. The President reminded that the health sector also needs support and hoped that with Ebola transmission declining, the excess NERC capacity could be used to strengthen the health sector.
2. On 3 February, UNMEER Ebola Crisis Manager Mr. Abdou Dieng in Guinea, met with response partners, including UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and UNFPA, to discuss the initiative of the National Ebola Response Coordination (NERC) for government ministers to visit hot spots in the 5 communes of Conakry in order to follow up on challenges faced by Community Watch Committees. Following the meeting of the NERC on 30 January, the Government had requested UNMEER to facilitate a needs assessment of the Community Watch Committees and support coordinate response efforts in 17 priority prefectures.