The leaders of the West African countries worst hit by Ebola have called for more aid to eradicate the disease and rebuild their shattered economies at an international conference in Brussels Tuesday.
Liberian President Ellen JohnsonSirleaf, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Alpha Conde of Guinea urged the world to help their recovery as the number of new cases slows.
The charity Oxfam had previously made similar calls for a Marshall Plan-type effort to help stricken West Africa. The countries at the centre of the Ebola epidemic are forecast to lose 12 percent of their combined gross domestic product this year, according to World Bank estimates.
The conference gathered the three African leaders plus more than 60 delegations including the European Union, China, the United States, Cuba and Australia, plus the United Nations, the World Bank and other international organizations. The African leaders repeated a pledge made last month to eradicate the disease by mid-April.
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