President of Sierra Leone Asks For Prayer To End Ebola Epidemic

The president of Sierra Leone recently called on citizens to pray in an effort to end the Ebola epidemic.

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma recently asked his country to begin a week of fasting and prayer in hopes of curbing the continued Ebola epidemic that has claimed over 7,800 lives in West Africa, especially the countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Koroma made his request in his annual New Year's Day message to the nation, suggesting that the seven days of observation begin immediately.

"Today I ask all to commit our actions to the grace, mercy and protection of God Almighty," he said.

"I know what we are being asked to do is very difficult; we are a people that have built our humanity on hugging each other, on shaking hands, on caring for the sick and showing communal empathy by participating in funeral activities," he said.

"But today the Ebola devil of illness and death hides in the innocent clothing of our culture to get us," he said.

Last week, Sierra Leone banned all public Christmas celebrations in the hopes of stopping the virus from spreading around the holidays.

"We want to avoid contact because of this deadly disease. It's necessary but I am not really happy. Normally we have a lot of fun with family and friends, but we just have to stay home," Freetown resident Kadija Kargbo told Reuters of the recent ban.

Countries around the world are currently working to develop an Ebola vaccine that can be mass-distributed to the West Africa population, with some suggesting they may have an approved vaccine as early as 2015.