Today is the 10th anniversary of the End of the Ebola Outbreak in Sierra Leone. Announced by the World Health Organization in the Bintumani Conference Centre on Saturday 7th November 2015, it was an emotional day in which as Sierra Leoneans we celebrated our collective triumph over a disease that took the lives of 3,956 of our compatriots. Today we remember those who lost their lives and the families they left behind. May their souls rest in peace. We also continue to remember the Ebola survivors whose lives would never be the same again, scarred by the ravages of the disease.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have served in the frontlines of one of the biggest challenges our nation has faced. From my initial advocacy in the UK in order to draw more international attention to the outbreak, to my role as Director of Planning for the National Ebola Response Center (NERC), I am grateful that God gave me the courage to lean in, step forward and make a difference when it was most needed.
As we commemorate this 10 year anniversary, I want to express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to former President H. E. Dr Ernest Bai Koroma for his incredible leadership during that crisis. My thanks are also extended to Rtd Major Palo Conteh, to all the team at NERC and to all the amazing partner organisations and individuals who took huge risks, made great sacrifices and fought day and night to end the Ebola outbreak. Yellow was the colour of the response, signifying hope.
I am grateful for this example of what can be achieved when we put our nation first and join hands to fight for the greater good.
May God bless Sierra Leone.
©Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE
