West Africa "on cusp of" becoming Ebola free: UN Chief

Liberia is expected to join Sierra Leone and Guinea Thursday as the third and final West African country to be declared free of Ebola transmissions, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday.

"Liberia is one day away from declaring the end of the recent flare-up in the country," said Ban at a UN General Assembly meeting on Ebola outbreak response. "For the first time since the outbreak started, the region is on the cusp of being declared free of Ebola transmission," he said.

However, Ban called for continued vigilance, noting that Liberia has already experienced two flare-ups. Liberia's response to the flare-ups showed the affected countries were ready to reactivate their emergency responses and contain the virus, he said.

Ban also called for continuing health care and support for the more than 10,000 survivors of Ebola in West Africa, many of whom experience persistent pain.

The UN chief also praised the response of the international community to the crisis and acknowledged the courage of health workers and burial teams.

The World Health Organization reports that in total 28,637 people contracted Ebola and 11,315 died -- overwhelmingly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- during the outbreak which began in 2014.

In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, U.S. President Barack Obama said hundreds of thousands and possibly a couple of million of lives were saved by the Ebola response. Endit