Last year, West Africa was devastated with the largest and worst outbreak ever experienced globally - the Ebola epidemic. Now, the three worst-struck nations: Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have eradicated the deadly virus and are starting to rebuild their health systems and economies shattered by the Ebola outbreak.

Like Us on Facebook

With the help of the United Nations (UN), $3.4 billion pledges were made on Friday to support the three countries' national recovery plans for the next two years, Reuters reported. UN Development Programme chief Helen Clark said the initial tally of pledges on Friday took the total amount allotted so far for Ebola recovery to more than $5 billion. She also emphasized that the UN will monitor and guarantee that the money is actually delivered, which is not always the case.

The pledges came from major donors including the African Development Bank's $745 million donation, European Union's $495 million, Islamic Development Bank's $360 million, Britain's $340 million and America's $266 million, Business Standard noted.

Speaking in behalf of the three nations, Liberia's President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said that another $4 billion will be needed to cover a separate sub-regional plan. She also appealed once again for international donors to cancel debt owed by the West African nations.

"The world as a whole has a great stake in how we together respond to this global threat," Johnson-Sirleaf said at the high-level meeting. "Diseases, just like terrorism, know no national boundaries."

The deadly Ebola outbreak, which started in Guinea in December 2013, has killed 11,261 people in 27,609 cases across West Africa that were documented by the World Health Organization (WHO). Unfortunately, Ebola re-emerged in Liberia last week, almost two months after the nation was declared virus-free. While neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone are still struggling to eradicate it. As per WHO, there were a total of 30 confirmed cases last week - 18 in Guinea, 3 in Liberia and 9 in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma told the United Nations' conference that the threat is not yet over until West Africa rebuilds its health sectors that were once destroyed by the Ebola outbreak. As per Channel News Asia, he also added the significance of rebuilding agricultural livelihoods that were compromised by the epidemic.

Koroma's words were also echoed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon through a statement on Friday.

"We cannot yet breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, let us collectively take a deep breath and resolve to finish the job," Secretary-General Ban stated.

TagsEbola outbreak, Ebola Update, West Africa, Ebola West Africa, Ebola Virus