By Gil Lima | Project Manager
Over a year since the Ebola epidemic began, the outbreak has now killed more people than all previous known outbreaks of the virus combined. Across the three worst-affected countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, almost 25,000 people, including more than 3,600 children, have now been infected, and over 10,300 have died. At least 16,000 children have lost one or more of their parents to the disease, and many of these children now face being stigmatised by communities fearful of being infected.
Striking some of the weakest health systems in the world, this outbreak took hold in one of the most challenging contexts ever encountered by Save the Children. In order to deal with the crisis effectively, we had to build health infrastructure and information systems from scratch that would normally take years to develop. We have had to be extremely agile, constantly monitoring the situation and quickly revising strategies as conditions change.
Today, transmission of the virus remains widespread in Guinea, and concerns are growing about the risk of the virus spreading, now that borders have been reopened and rivers are low and more easily crossed. We remain vigilant and continue to work in partnership with national governments and other charities to increase awareness and limit the devastation caused by the epidemic.
Over 9 million children live in areas affected by Ebola, and the impact on their communities has been enormous. The three most-affected countries are all recovering from long periods of conflict and instability; the challenges these countries and their people faced were huge, even before Ebola hit. In Liberia, 73% of families have suffered a fall in their income, and an estimated 46% of the country’s workforce are now unemployed as a result of the epidemic, while 180,000 people have lost their jobs in Sierra Leone. This decline, coupled with a dramatic increase in food prices, has left families struggling to buy enough to eat. The fragile health infrastructure collapsed and schools were closed for more than six months. As a result, immunisation programs have faltered, while child labour, sexual exploitation, and teenage pregnancies have all risen dramatically.
We’ve worked in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea since the 1990s, and began responding to this emergency in March 2013 conducting community awareness and hygiene promotion to limit the spread. We’re doing whatever it takes to support communities left devastated by this epidemic and we’re in this for the long haul, committed to helping these countries recover for the next three years and beyond. So far we’ve directly reached almost 870,000 people across the affected countries with our life-saving work, and significantly, we are approaching zero-transmissions in Liberia. As we begin to phase out our Ebola emergency response, we want to thank all of our donors and supporters. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support. Thank you.
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By Phil Carroll | Media Contact
By Gil Lima | Project Manager
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