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Ghana to honor volunteers serving in Ebola-hit countries

Xinhua, April 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Ghana's government would bestow national honors on 45 health workers who had volunteered to work in the three West African countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone which had been hardest hit by the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

This follows the successful return home by the 45 who had served in the three countries as part of the African Union Ebola intervention team.

"All the 45 Ghanaians that travelled to the most affected countries had returned safely; at the appropriate time the state would recognize them," Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama made this promise during a meeting with the Council of Elders of the Convention People's Party (CPP), the party formed by Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah.

The Ghanaian president who also chairs the sub-regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rallied international support for the fight against EVD in the sub-region, after paying working visits to the three most affected countries.

The world body established the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) with headquarters in Ghana.

Mahama explained that his conviction was that of self preservation knowing that if nobody did anything, this disease would "spread and eventually it will come to my country."

Mahama expressed great delight that the Ghanaian health workers were highly praised in all the areas they worked.

"We are happy we didn't lose any of them," he said, "These are heroes. The state is preparing to honor them at a certain time for this very risky venture they were engaged in."

The president was hopeful that with the level of work done in the three worst hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the disease could be overpowered soon.

All three countries are said to be experiencing drastic declines in the Ebola infection rates with high hopes of attaining Ebola-free status.

As of April 5, 2015, the World Health Organization says 25,550 cases and 10,587 deaths had been reported worldwide, and the vast majority of them were from the three West African countries. Endi