Ghana on Monday began sending 100 tonnes of
humanitarian food relief items to three Ebola-affected countries in West Africa
to help feed those under treatment and quarantined in isolation centres.
A statement issued by Haruna
Warkani, ECOWAS Commission’s spokesperson in Abuja on Tuesday
said the Ghana Air Force had begun the transportation of items to Liberia,
Guinea and Sierra Leone.
It stated that the items were donations from
President John
Mahama on behalf of the government and people of Ghana during
his three-nation visit on Monday to the three countries.
Mahama, the Chairman of ECOWAS, made a
symbolic presentation of some items to the presidents of the countries,
saying the gesture was a symbol of solidarity with affected countries, the
statement said.
The items were 3,000 bags of rice, 300
cartons of cooking oil, 300 cartons of milk and 300 cartons of cocoa drinking
products, all produced in Ghana, the statement said.
Mahama said Africans did not have to always
wait for the developed world to come to their aid in times of crisis, such as
the spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the statement stated.
Mahama said. “We must show love to each other
in our own small way,”
The visit enabled the Ghanaian leader
to hold discussions with his colleagues on available sub-regional and
international interventions to support the countries in their efforts to
contain and manage Ebola, the statement explained.
It added that Mahama also advocated against
any international isolation of the affected countries, as such attitude would
make relief and humanitarian assistance to infected persons difficult.
He also decided to work with the UN to set up
an international logistics centre in Ghana to serve as the main hub for the
fight against Ebola in West Africa.
Nigeria, another country that has been
affected by EVD, has recorded eight deaths and has largely brought the disease
under control.
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