Ebola won’t disrupt free movement in West Africa; Leaders pledge

Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS have allayed fears that the Ebola outbreak could disrupt the free movement of goods and people in the sub-region.

The leaders underlined their commitment to the ECOWAS principles of free movement in spite of the outbreak of the disease in some member countries.

A communique issued by the ECOWAS leaders at the end of their extraordinary summit in Accra on Thursday night, however, asked member countries to combine the free movement of people with strict health control measures at the entry points of their countries.

The summit devised strategies to strengthen the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) that has infected about 15,000 people and killed nearly 5,000 in some West African countries, mainly Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. It also discussed the political situation in Burkina Fasso.

Heads of state who took part in the extraordinary summit were Presidents John Dramani Mahama of Ghana, who is chairman