Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Shares How to End COVID-19 by Going Back in Time to Ebola
02 Apr 2020
Internationally known as “Africa’s Iron Lady,” Nobel Peace Laureate and APB speaker Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a leading promoter of freedom, peace and justice. She believes that the world can make a big difference with the fight of COVID-19 by learning about the Ebola pandemic.
President Sirleaf led Liberia through reconciliation and recovery following the nation’s decade-long civil war, as well as the Ebola Crisis. The BBC asked Sirleaf for her reflections on the COVID-19 and she wrote a letter explaining how she demanded a show of global unity to help end the worldwide pandemic of Ebola. Sirleaf said, “I argued that an uncontrolled contagion, no matter where in the world, and no matter how localized, is a threat to all of humanity.”
Sirleaf said that misinformation and distrust led to every country having delayed responses to the coronavirus outbreak, which is a mistake similar to how they responded to Ebola. However, she is hopeful. She sees that people have recognized their missteps and are now taking COVID-19 seriously, which will ultimately lead to a positive outcome. “I have full faith in the relentless spirit of the individual, a conviction that leaders emerge in times of crisis at every level of society, and that our religious and communal differences pale in comparison to our collective belief in the power of prayer…” said Sirleaf.
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