West African artists urge French-speaking nations to act on Ebola

By Misha Hussain DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - West African artists have urged heads of state holding a French-speaking nations' summit in Dakar this weekend to take action to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in the region. The rare tropical disease has infected more than 15,000 people in West Africa since it was first recorded in Guinea in March. More than 5,000 people have died from the virus, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhoea and internal bleeding. The theme of this year's biannual summit of "francophonie", a 77-strong group whose role includes promoting peace, democracy and human rights, is women and youth. The artists wrote in an open letter to the leaders that women had been disproportionately affected by the Ebola outbreak as they are often the carers – around 55 percent of the victims have been women, according to the World Health Organization. They also wrote that, despite United Nations pressure to keep borders open, some states in the region were closing their borders and people living in the affected areas were being stigmatized, leading to isolation and serious economic impacts. Summit host Senegal has closed its border with Guinea twice since the start of the outbreak, causing a spike in food prices and disrupting the flow of humanitarian aid and workers, according to the World Food Programme. Senegal does not share a land border with Liberia or Sierra Leone, the other countries battling Ebola. A ruling by regional economic bloc ECOWAS forced Senegal to reopen its air and sea links to allow the free flow of aid and workers, but its land border with Guinea remains shut. The francophone group of nations has not yet spoken out on the health and humanitarian crisis caused by the outbreak, which is affecting the second biggest French-speaking region in the world, the letter said. The more than 20 artists who signed the letter included pop duo Amadou and Mariam, guitarist Vieux Farka Toure, film director Alain Gomis, and singers Baba Maal and Ismael Lo – household names in the region. "We expect you to translate high-level political will into concrete actions to help stop Ebola spread and reduce the suffering of your people," the artists wrote. "The challenge now is how to secure logistic, financial and human resources to stop this spread before it is too late." Well-known African musicians, including some of those who signed the open letter, have joined forces to record the song "Africa Stop Ebola", sung in French and local languages, to raise awareness of Ebola and help people avoid catching it.