Abuja, 17th September, 2014 - His Excellency Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo, the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has re-affirmed that the  Commission is interested in expanding  collaboration with WHO in the sub-region given the exemplary role played by the Organization in containing the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West-Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

The ECOWAS President gave the commendation when he granted audience to the WHO Country Representative (WR) Dr. Rui Gama Vaz in his Office at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, 16th September, 2014, adding that “ECOWAS Commission is ready to continue  partnering with WHO to address  other health-related issues affecting the sub-region”.

His Excellency Ouedraogo further informed the WR that ECOWAS member-countries  have been  advised to continue to remain in solidarity and avoid arbitrary isolation of those affected by the EVD as the Commission is working  in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other development partners in the sub-region to contain the epidemic.

The President consequently cautioned member-states that “closing the borders does not foster solidarity and no country should be isolated because it recorded cases  of Ebola”  but rather “increase our surveillance and be more vigilant at both entry and exit points”.

In his response, Dr. Rui Vaz presented the updated Ebola situation to His Excellency and reiterated his position as in different fora, that “the response to the Ebola epidemic has been promising and the leadership role displayed by the country has been unprecedented, not only in the political sense but also in the allocation of resources which was very vital”. 

Notwithstanding the progress achieved so far, the WR strongly called for strengthening community level surveillance which according to him “will forestall the virus sneaking into and circulating undetected in the country”. Dr. Vaz however stated that more resources are needed to close the gaps in the areas of contact-tracing, screening at the Point of Entry (PoE), case management and public awareness.

Finally, the WHO and ECOWAS leaders agreed that their technical teams will fine-tune the details for further collaboration and support on Ebola and other health issues affecting West Africa. Meanwhile, the ECOWAS President has agreed to provide funding for the recruitment of experts at the PoE and for case management.