(LINA) - House Speaker J. Alex Tyler is calling for the application of the lessons learnt from the Ebola crisis to influence national undertakings.

“We have learned lessons from the Ebola outbreak and must now take those lessons beyond the virus by using them in other national undertakings,” Tyler said at the special National Thanksgiving program held at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia Monday for Liberia being declared Ebola free.

He noted that cardinal among issues exposed by the outbreak was the country’s weak healthcare system and the strength in the divergence of duties of the three branches of government.

He lauded the National Legislature’s prompt response in approving funding to the fight against the disease that was then “the country’s enemy”.

Acknowledging the vital lessons learned over the period, Speaker Tyler said the outbreak has also alerted citizens of the premium role of individual institutions in fighting outbreaks and described the family as the first defense in ensuring the safety of an individual’s life.

He thanked both national and international health workers and paid tribute to those who fell prey to the virus.

He also paid tribute to former Health Minister Walter Gwenigale for his capacity in collaborating with local and foreign health practitioners to curb the virus.

The first case of the Ebola Virus Disease was reported in March 2014, but with the help of local and international partners the disease was eradicated in about 14 months, claiming over 4,500 lives in Liberia.
LINA BK/JGT/TSS/PTK