GBARNGA Liberia (Reuters) – International aid to battle the Ebola epidemic in Liberia is arriving too slowly, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Wednesday, though she said there were early signs that the outbreak in her West African country might be “in decline”.
On a tour of the villages of remote northern Liberia, Johnson Sirleaf told Reuters that she wanted to give her people hope that the virus could be beaten, though the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week there were few indications of the epidemic being brought under control.
The hemorrhagic fever, which has no proven cure, has killed more than 3,400 people in four West African countries. More than half of those were in Liberia, where the healthcare system was still reeling from a devastating 1989-2003 civil war.
Johnson Sirleaf dismissed warnings from the WHO that as many as 20,000 people could be infected with Ebola in West Africa by November, saying that an education campaign was curbing traditional practices in Liberia that had helped to spread the highly contagious virus, such as washing the dead by hand.
“We make a judgment by the number of people who are called to be carried to Ebola treatment centers, by the empty beds in the treatment centers, by the number of dead who have been buried, and all of those seem to be a bit in decline,” she said in an interview.
Johnson Sirleaf offered no firm figures and acknowledged that some victims may not be coming forward, but said: “We still believe it looks good. We are cautiously optimistic.”
Her assessment contrasted with warnings from some aid groups in Liberia that treatment centers are overflowing. In its latest update, the WHO said that as of Sept. 28 the total number of new cases had fallen for a second week but warned against reading any good news into the figures as they were almost certainly under-reported.
Johnson Sirleaf said Ebola had exposed a lack of investment by donors in Liberia’s hospitals and clinics, which had only around 50 trained doctors for the country’s 4 million people. About 95 medical staff have so far died of Ebola and more than 180 were being monitored for signs of the disease.
“We have to rebuild the whole healthcare system,” the 75-year-old president said. “Ebola has brought us to a shock awareness so it is a huge awakening call that I hope ourselves and our partners can try to respond to.”
Liberia, founded by freed American slaves, has strong cultural ties with the United States and President Barack Obama has announced a 3,000-strong military mission to build treatment centers and train staff, which is gradually deploying. Aid organizations from USAID to Save the Children are also providing funds for clinics, medical equipment and supplies.
Yet, in Liberia’s dilapidated ocean-front capital Monrovia — named after 19th century U.S. President James Monroe — there remains a shortage of ambulances and medical workers. Johnson Sirleaf, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on women’s rights, said international efforts were “appreciated” but promised aid was slow to arrive.
“The commitment is strong. We just need to see a little bit faster action, that’s all,” said Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female president, wearing her trademark blue turban. “We would like to speed it up.”
During a tour of the northern Nimba county, Johnson Sirleaf met doctors, nurses and local leaders, distributing food and money to hard-hit communities. In some villages, people lined the street clapping, singing and waving branches as her convoy passed.
Yet many local people also voiced frustration at the pace of the government response. “We are tired of Ebola,” shouted one girl at the passing convoy as she hung from the side of a bus.
“DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO”
The worst Ebola outbreak on record has been marked by several false dawns, particularly in April and May when international health officials were hopeful the epidemic had been contained in the forests of southern Guinea.
Liberia has suffered 2,210 deaths from Ebola as of Oct. 4, according to the government, adding 212 to the death toll since the WHO’s update as of Sept 28.
The virus, which is spread by contact with bodily fluids, had never before struck in West Africa and caught local communities and health officials unprepared. Johnson Sirleaf acknowledged that her government was slow to react.