Since August, World Renew has been responding in partnership with the Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) and the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL). You can read more about that response here.
In March 2014 the first Ebola Victim died of Ebola in Buedu Village Kalihum District, eastern Sierra Leone. At present 13 out of 14 geographical districts are affected. The outbreak of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone is very serious and containment of the disease is not yet under control.
The virus has continued to spread from its original epicentre on the Guinea-Liberia border to ten other districts of Sierra Leone’s 13 districts, leaving only Koinadugu untouched.
Sierra Leone now has the most cases of EVD. There has been a 45% fatality ratio, which is much lower than the 90% reported in other outbreaks, which demonstrates the effectiveness of early detection and treatment.
“The outbreak of Ebola has adversely affected the social and economic life of the country. Apart from depleting human resources by taking the lives of many, the virus has caused the suspension of trade fares in certain chiefdoms. It has already created many people to become orphaned and widowed,” explains the Program Manager of CES.
As of September 1, World Renew and CES are working to reach 570 villages made up of 260,000 individuals for three months. The only District with no report of Ebola infection is Koinadugu. World Renew will work in this region as well as in Tonkolili district.
In the communities in which World Renew and CES are working, most families have fled into their farming sites. CES will sensitize the people on the causes, spread, and means of prevention for Ebola. Program staff will select and train community mobilizers to help further share these health messages in their community. They will work with the community leadership to introduce and enforce by-laws against the behaviors that increase the spread of Ebola.
