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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ebola outbreak in West Africa highlighted the critical need for the world to have a more robust and effective global health architecture to deal with health crises, Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma said here on Thursday.
Koroma made the remarks at the 71st annual debate of the UN General Assembly which entered its third day on Thursday.
The president commended the High-Level Panel Review on the Global Response to Health Crises for its comprehensive report.
"We strongly consider its 27 recommendations as the way forward for appropriate action at national, regional and international levels," he said, urging collectively commitment to implementing these recommendations to protect humanity from the scourges of future health crises.
The panel was appointed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon in 2015 with a mission to make recommendations to strengthen national and global health systems to prevent and manage future health crises, following the outbreak of Ebola virus disease.
Koroma also expressed his gratitude for the international support in his country's fight against the deadly virus.
The World Health Organization(WHO) in June declared Sierra Leone free of the Ebola virus after the world's worst outbreak of the virus ravaged the country's teetering health system.
"We are now implementing our Post Ebola Recovery Programme. We applaud the support we have received, but we still face enormous resource gaps," the president said, appealing for continued international support in the country's recovery phase.
WHO data show West Africa's Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,300 people and infected some 28,600 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia from 2013.
More than 140 world leaders gather in New York to attend this year's general debate which lasts from Sept. 20 to Sept. 26. This year's theme for the General Assembly is "The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A Universal Push to Transform our World." Enditem
