Health officials in Sierra Leone have reportedly discovered scores of bodies in a remote diamond-mining area of the eastern district of Kono, raising fears that the scale of the Ebola outbreak may be underreported. Sierra Leone has overtaken neighbouring Liberia as the country with the highest number of Ebola cases, the latest World Health Organization figures suggest. Sierra Leone is banning public Christmas celebrations to help reduce the spread of the Ebola virus.
A government spokesman told reporters that all public celebrations would be banned starting December 20, five days before the holiday. However, the government order will not bar people from attending church on Christmas. The spokesman, Abdulai Bayraytay, said the measure was aimed at reducing physical contact among people in public in order to slow transmission of the virus.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) today recommended that creditors should seriously consider debt cancellation for the countries worst-hit by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and also projected that even if those most affected were to register zero economic growth, the impact on Africa as a continent would be minimal.
“Educational systems, rising social stigma, unemployment, and decreased food security are some of the big issues that Ebola-affected countries must deal with,” according to study on the Socio-Economic Impacts of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) on Africa released today by the Addis-Ababa based UN regional forum.
Ebola donations raised through HOTRIC Charity Shop to date are: £291.71.