HIGH LEVEL COORDINATION MEETING OF ECOWAS PARTNERS

Accra, 16 January 2015

FINAL COMMUNIQUE

  1. At the initiative of H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic and Supervisor of ECOWAS Process on the fight against Ebola, the High Level Coordination meeting of ECOWAS Partners on the Fight against Ebola Virus Disease was held on 16 January 2015 in Accra, Republic of Ghana in order to strengthen coordination and prepare the recovery and reconstruction post Ebola. 
  2. The meeting was attended by H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana and current Chair of ECOWAS Authority and H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic. 
  3. The Ministers in charge of Health (or their representatives), members of the ECOWAS Ad-hoc Ministerial Coordination Group on Ebola (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali) and Togo participated at the meeting. The President of ECOWAS Commission, the Special Representative of UN Secretary General for West Africa, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of UNMEER, the Director General of WAHO, the Director of Operations of ECHO, the Secretary General of Mano River Union, the representatives AU, UEMOA, WHO, as well as, the representatives of the International organizations, Private sectors, Development Partners and agencies also attended the meeting. 
  4. The High Level meeting took note of the Ebola Situation in West Africa and considered the report of the preparatory meeting. It also considered the paper related to the engagement of the private sector in the containment of Ebola Epidemic in the region.
  5. The meeting acknowledged the positive developments in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease as a result of intensified efforts at national, regional and international levels. It commended the sustained commitment of all stakeholders and expressed profound gratitude to all ECOWAS bilateral and multilateral Partners. 
  6. The meeting underscored the need to strengthen the regional multi sectorial coordination in the fight against the epidemic and welcome the decision taken in this regard at the Extra Ordinary Summit on Ebola held in Accra on 6 November 2014. The meeting welcomed the appointment of H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe to supervise the Ebola Virus Disease response and eradication process. 
  7. In this regard, the meeting stressed on the respect of principles of subsidiarity, complementarity, comparative advantage and cost effectiveness as guiding principle for effective coordination among stakeholders. It adopted a framework which provides for two levels of coordination namely Strategic and Operational. Furthermore, the meeting stress on the need to consider cross-border perspective as well as communities' involvement in prevention and response strategies including safe access for humanitarian agencies. 
  8. The meeting reiterated the need to remove the restrictions and bans on the movement of persons and goods to and from the affected countries, and also to resume air traffic in those countries. 
  9. In order to address the negative impact of the epidemic and enhance resilience for sustainable development, the meeting emphasized on the need to prepare for post Ebola recovery and reconstruction. 
  10. To that effect, the meeting identified priority areas of intervention which include: (i) Water, Sanitation and Health, (ii) Infrastructure and Basic Services, (iii) Peace Building, Institution Reconstruction and Governance, and (iv) Socio-economic revitalization. 
  11. The meeting welcomed the Ebola Recovery Assessment commissioned by the UN Secretary General and encouraged all stakeholders to be fully involved in the process and build on the outcome of this assessment to fine-tune the identified areas of intervention.
  12. The meeting welcomes the mass attendance of private sector and invites it to support the fight against Ebola Virus Disease and to participate actively in the recovery and reconstruction process. It urges the Private sector to galvanize their efforts towards mobilizing investments into the affected countries. In this perspective, the meeting encourages the establishment of a platform for private sector mobilization. 
  13. In order to support the reconstruction efforts of the affected countries, the meeting stresses the need for a strong advocacy for the debt cancellation in favour of the said countries. 
  14. The meeting commends H.E. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Togolese Republic and Supervisor of ECOWAS Process on the fight against Ebola for his relentless efforts and commitment towards the eradication of the epidemic in the region. 
  15. The meeting expresses its gratitude to H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, and current Chairman of the Authority, the Government and people of Ghana for the warm hospitality extended to the participants as well as for the excellent facilities placed at their disposal to ensure the success of their meeting. 

Done at Accra, on 16th January 2015

The High Level Meeting.

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