PSC/PR/BR.(CDLXXI) Page 2 Furthermore, Council and Participants stressed that, beyond the immediate impact of the disease, there are economic and social effects of the Ebola epidemic, which also require urgent attention. Therefore, they emphasized that, in the long term, the rest of Africa would need to provide support to the affected countries in West Africa in their recovery efforts. Council and Participants commended the brave health professionals who have risked their lives to fight the Ebola epidemic. They paid condolences to the families of all those who lost their relatives due to the Ebola epidemic and expressed solidarity with the governments and people of the countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic. They also stressed the need to work to overcome any barriers to a swift response and encouraged the AU, WHO, and the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) to coordinate their efforts on ensuring that international health workers can be easily and safely deployed to the affected countries. In this regard, they called on AU Member States to keep open the lines of communication with the counties most affected so that the health workers can move without any hindrances. Council and Participants underscored the need to start rebuilding the national healthcare infrastructure of the most affected countries of West Africa, which have been overwhelmed by the Ebola epidemic. They also underscored the need to push ahead with the development of an Ebola vaccine. Council and Participants noted that strengthened regional and international cooperation will be critical in easing the burden of the Ebola crisis. In this regard, they emphasized the importance of continued regional coordination of efforts and the need for the AU to continue to lead all international efforts in fighting the Ebola epidemic. They stressed, in particular, the need for closer cooperation between and among the countries most affected by the epidemic. In this context, they welcomed the endorsement by the ECOWAS Heads of State of the Regional Integrated Operational Plan for Response to Ebola during the ECOWAS Summit held in Accra, on 6 November 2014. Council and Participants deplored the continued stigmatization and isolation of the countries most affected. They urged AU Member States, which have not yet done so, to implement the decision adopted by the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Addis Ababa on 8 September 2014, regarding the opening of borders and resumption of flights to the affected countries. In addition, Participants requested the PSC to begin to make plans to develop a post-Ebola support plan, including the holding of an international pledging conference, in West Africa, to mobilize resources to help the affected countries to successfully recover from the consequences of the Ebola outbreak and rebuild their health and social infrastructure. Council and Participants underscored the urgent need to begin to explore practical means and ways of supporting the West African region to re-enter the path of accelerated recovery, peace-building and development. In this regard, they stressed the need to expedite international assistance beyond medical response to also include institutional recovery particularly in the rebuilding of a robust healthcare infrastructure. They also