The Director of the Legon Center for international Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), Professor Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu has said the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have failed in the fight against Ebola.
The disease which has plagued mostly Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia has killed over 4,500 people.
Despite various interventions being done by ECOWAS in extending funds and relief items to affected countries, Professor Mensah-Bonsu insists both the continental and regional body lost a wonderful opportunity to show impact in the lives of many Africans in the Ebola hit countries.
“The AU should have taken this opportunity because if it performed only coordinating functions then we probably don’t need it,” she said.
[contextly_sidebar id=”WryaNChh3eSeUYBYlWNVDRwGeqREyCnP”]The World Health Organization has also predicted that the disease if not contained could kill about 20,000 people more before the end of 2014.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News after delivering a speech at the University of Ghana Alumni lecture, Professor Mensah-Bonsu argued there is no indication that either the AU or ECOWAS is working at their maximum effort to bring the disease under control.
She indicated that “the nature of the epidemic is such that it’s bound to grow and peak before it can be reduced even with interventions but because we took so long to even issue statements, we gave the disease momentum to spread and grow before trying to backtrack and act and that is a tragedy.”
She however called on the two bodies to double their efforts in handling the disease.
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By: Godwin Allotey Akweiteh/citifmonline.com/Ghana