The health sector in Sierra Leone received the largest support of the United States government in the last three years, the outgoing US ambassador has said.
Ambassador John Hoover disclosed on Monday that an estimated US$300M of US aid was spent in the health sector on emergency response to the 2014 Ebola epidemic alone. He said prior to and shortly after the epidemic was declared over, the US collaborated with number of other health strengthening programs that have left Sierra Leone prepared to handle any future epidemic.
Mr Hoover was speaking in an interview ahead of his departure after the conclusion of his duty of duty. He is scheduled to leave for Washington next month.
Hoover was appointed ambassador to Sierra Leone in 2014 and when he arrived in Freetown it coincided with the deadly viral outbreak which eventual killed over 11, 000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Hoover has been recounting his experience representing the US government in efforts to help tackle the epidemic. He said the US' contribution was second only the United Kingdom in terms of international support responding to the epidemic.
"All in all, it was a very challenging assignment for me," he said, adding: "but it gives me great satisfaction and pride that the US government was able to contribute so much to defeat the Ebola virus but also to economic recovery."
The US is also a major contributor to the donor funded post-Ebola recovery project which is rounding up after about two years in implementation, he said.
Hoover said the rounding up of the post Ebola project also marked a transitions for US support to the West African country from short term to long term development supports.
[First published on www.apanews.net]
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