By Umaru Sanda Amadu
ACCRA
An extraordinary summit meeting of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) opens Thursday in Ghanaian capital Accra to discuss efforts to contain the Ebola virus in the West African sub-region.
"President John Mahama, in his strong leadership role as chairman of ECOWAS, has been taking several steps to make sure that Ebola is dealt with and contained by our brothers and sisters in the three originally affected countries," presidential spokesman Ben Dotse Malor told Anadolu Agency ahead of the meeting.
"So it was planned long ago that there would be a one-day meeting for today after consultation with leaders in the West Africa sub-region," he said.
The heads of state of all 15 ECOWAS member states have been invited to the event.
Security has been stepped up in the Ghanaian capital ahead of the leaders' summit meeting.
Police have already blocked main streets in Accra that lead to the meeting venue at the Movenpick Hotel.
Stepped-up security arrangements have caused massive traffic jams in the capital.
Today's meeting follows a visit by President Mahama to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in September.
"The president, on behalf of the government of Ghana, took to these nations some food items in addition to financial commitments being made to those countries," said Malor.
"Today's meeting is just to get an update as to where we are with Ebola," added the spokesman.
In recent months, Ebola – a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure – has killed 4,951 people worldwide, mostly in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A tropical fever that first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.
It can also reportedly spread through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have died of the virus.
Burkina
President Mahama is also expected to brief ECOWAS summit participants on the outcome of his Wednesday visit to Burkina Faso, on which he was accompanied by the presidents of Nigeria and Senegal.
Malor said the three leaders had met with Burkinabe youth groups, political parties, religious leaders and security chiefs.
"Everything was constructive and discussions were serious," he told AA.
"All Burkinabes agreed that they need a strong transition government and that this transition must be led by a civilian," he added.
According to Malor, a communiqué issued at the end of the meetings had called on Burkinabes to appoint, by consensus, a suitable civilian to lead a one-year transitional phase.
It also called for presidential and legislative elections to be held in November of next year.
The communiqué went on to guarantee the safety of all Burkinabes – including leaders of political parties and members of the defunct government and national assembly – and protect human rights.
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