By CHUSA SICHONE –
THE African Union (AU) has appealed to African countries and the international community to come to the aid of its member states affected by the deadly Ebola virus.
AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma made the appeal during the opening of an emergency meeting of the Union’s Executive Council, as the continent seeks to craft a united, comprehensive and collective response to the Ebola outbreak that has so far affected a number of countries in West Africa.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma warned against responses that fuel isolation or lead to stigmatisation of victims, communities and countries.
She urged African media, civil society, artists and cultural workers, political parties, sports and faith based organisations to work with governments, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the AU.
Dr Dlamini-Zuma urged the stakeholders to work with governments, RECs and the AU so as to get accurate and clear messages out, as part of a public health campaign, to inform and educate African citizens on the transmission of the disease, care for the affected, and burial of the dead.
She also called on the scientific community to work together in the development of treatment and vaccines for the disease.
Dr Dlamini Zuma voiced AU concerns about the impact of the disease on post conflict reconstruction and development efforts in the most affected countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
“This includes the impact on cross border trade and food security, as people are unable to work their fields, and so food prices are rising.
“We should take tough measures to halt the spread of the disease, but we must also put in place measures to enable agriculture to continue and support traders, the majority of whom are women,” she said.
It is estimated that 60 per cent of Ebola deaths and infections are female, including nurses, cleaners and laundry workers.
African Development Bank deputy president Geraldine Fraser Moleketi also emphasised the socio economic impact that Ebola is expected to have.
“The economic and social impact will affect many more lives and will increase the longer the epidemic continues,” she said.
Ebola has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation.
It has been successfully stopped in previous outbreaks but current measures are failing to stop its spread and it continues to claim lives at a rate unknown since the first outbreak in 1976.