‘Ebola has devastating impact on children’

NEW YORK: With 9 million children living in areas impacted by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the disease has had a devastating impact on many of them, including some 5 000 children who have been infected, the UN Children’s Fund said yesterday.

Unicefurged the full eradication of Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the countries worst hit by the epidemic, warning that the disease has already disrupted the lives of millions of children and will have long-lasting effects.

The 5 000 infected children make up about 20 percent of the total number of infections, while 16 000 children have lost one or both of their parents or caretakers to Ebola. With healthcare systems decimated, children have also been more vulnerable to other diseases such as malaria, measles and acute malnutrition.

In Guinea, hospital visits were down 50 percent last year compared to previous years because of the outbreak.

In Sierra Leone, basic immunisation figures for children dropped by 21 percent, while the number of children treated for malaria fell by almost 40 percent.

In Liberia, only 37 percent of children were born in healthcare facilities between May and August last year, which is down from 52 percent in 2013.

“The outbreak will not be over until there are zero cases, and every single contact has been traced and monitored,” said Barbara Bentein, Unicef ’s global emergency co-ordinator for Ebola.

“We cannot afford to let our guard down. At the same time, basic services need to be re-established safely and responsibly, using the assets of the response.”

According to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation, 24 597 people have been infected by Ebola, while the death toll stands at 10 144. – Sapa-dpa

‘THE OUTBREAK WILL NOT BE OVER UNTIL THERE ARE ZERO CASES’