Regional summit on fighting Ebola opens in Guinea

Presidents and minister from the River Mano Union met on Sunday in Guinea's capital Conakry for a summit that will focus on the war against Ebola virus and economic revival in the post-epidemic period, an official source has said.

River Mano Union brings together Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire which holds observer status.

Besides Guinea's President Alpha Conde, Liberia was represented by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sierra Leone was represented by President Ernest Bai Koroma while Cote d'Ivoire was represented by Health Minister Raymond Goudou Coffie.

The Conakry meeting comes after a recent visit by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark to the Ebola hit countries.

Clark visited the countries to assess efforts made on the ground to fight against Ebola, and announced UNDP's support for economic revival in these countries.

In this regard, three international meetings are scheduled to take place, with the first one coming on March 3 in Geneva.

The Ebola epidemic has caused thousands of deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, although the UN announced on Jan. 29 that despite the virus not having been totally wiped out, the number of new infections had dropped. Endi