President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has told regional leaders at an ongoing European Union organized conference on Ebola in Brussels that restoring economic growth in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone is a long-term and costly task.
She said "the most important long-term response to Ebola rests on plans and strategies for economic recovery," adding that "this will require significant resources, perhaps even a Marshall Plan," referring to the vast U.S. plan which helped Europe recover from its World War II devastation.
As spokesperson of the three hard-hit West African countries, President Sirleaf also noted that "we need our international partners to remain committed to us," as the number of deaths from the disease approaches 10,000.
"We are talking about a Marshall Plan because Ebola is like a war," Guinea President Alpha Conde reiterated in his remarks.
"We have turned the corner, but even as we have shown an improvement in results, the virus is still with us. We are still in a fight," Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma added.
About $4.9 billion has been pledged internationally to the Ebola effort, but only around $2.4 billion has actually been disbursed, sources said.
The Ebola cases in the three Mano River Union States - Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone - are down to about 100 per week from between 800 to 900 per week.