United States ambassador Samantha Power said Tuesday that Liberia is beginning to see the result of efforts to combat the Ebola outbreak, but it will still take years before the fight is won.

Power, who is a member of Obama's cabinet and the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said the Ebola-ridden country is seeing the result in the Ebola fight as the number of safely performed burials increased and the average laboratory testing time decreased to five hours from five days.

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The U.S. ambassador arrived Tuesday in Sierra Leone, after visiting Guinea and Liberia, to monitor the progress in the countries and to see what more can be done to contain the virus.

During  a joint media conference held in Monrovia with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Power said despite the growing impact of the combat against the virus, there is still "a long way to go."

In addition, she said that they were on the right track, but government agencies and the global community need to increase the efforts in contributing towards the complete containment of the virus.

"We will stand together and we will beat this epidemic," she said.

Power also said during the news conference that there has been a substantial increase in the number of safe burials occurring in Liberia, compared to when the battle with Ebola was at its peak several months ago.

Bodies of patients who died from Ebola needs proper handling, since it's during that stage when it is most contagious.

In Sierra Leone, the number of safe burials last week was triple the usual figure, Power said.

Meanwhile, during her visit to a mobile laboratory in Bong County, east of Monrovia, its officer in charge told Power that the lab was already able to test 280 samples since it became operational nearly a month ago.

According to U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Espinosa, the number of samples that has tested positive for the virus has decreased by a third since the testings began.

The trend showed that Liberians are becoming more aware of the virus' symptoms, which are similar to that of Malaria, Espinosa said.

The latest information from the World Health Organization revealed that there are about 10,000 people who are still infected with the virus, while the death toll has reached almost 5,000.

TagsSamantha Power, what is ebola, Ebola outbreak, West Africa, Ebola campaign