Twenty-five hundred people have been infected with Ebola, 900 have died, and 580 have recovered in Sierra Leone; the disease remains "very stubborn, despite all the measures taken", including quarantining five of the country's 14 districts.
This past Sunday I spoke via telephone with Professor Monty Jones, Special Adviser to the President of Sierra Leone and Ambassador-at-Large, who is responsible for overseeing the Ebola response in the country, and who outlined the needs of his country to me.
Sierra Leone requires community-based care centres, a thousand more beds, and considerably more healthcare workers. Three to four healthcare workers are needed for each patient suffering with Ebola which means that the country needs a minimum of 500 more doctors, 2000 nurses, and 1000 technicians with a range of specialties.
Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person remain a particular challenge in Sierra Leone, as the Government works to stop the spread of the disease, while trying to give a decent burial to each of its citizens. Previously, burial customs included "crying, mourning, touching the body," but now there are no ceremonies, no touching, and "burials are fast-tracked."
The Special Advisor to the President explained that a swab is taken from each of the dead in order to ensure someone has not died of Ebola. Unfortunately, there are not enough ambulances, not enough laboratories, and not enough technicians to analyze the blood samples.
As a result, there is a backlog of these samples, which means there is an accumulation of bodies to pick-up. Sometimes bodies remain in houses for three days; the longer a body remains the greater the chance that someone will want to touch their loved one. According to the WHO, burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can play a role in the transmission of Ebola.
Labs currently process 50-100 samples per day, but they need more labs and more technicians so that 500 samples can be analyzed per day.
The Special Advisor to the President is particularly concerned about possible travel bans, and what such bans might mean to the economy, and the importation of food, and desperately needed healthcare and medications.
Sierra Leone was "one of the fastest growing economies in the world", and the World Bank ranked it the 6th fastest reformer. "Economic growth was at 11 percent, was predicted to go to 14 percent, but has now dropped back to 7 percent." A ban would cripple the economy further, and prevent much needed food and medical help from coming in.
The Special Advisor provided reassurances that people are thoroughly screened in Sierra Leone airports with thermometers and infrared temperature screening, and if there is even a slight increase in temperature, they are turned back, and turned back to healthcare.
It is hoped that the international community will continue to respect the known science with regard to travel bans, and not make political decisions that would hurt Sierra Leone further.
It was made clear that the economy and healthcare will need help after the Ebola outbreak, and that we should not forget the people of Sierra Leone and indeed, West Africa. Several humanitarian organizations have relayed the same point to me: healthcare systems have effectively collapsed and will require substantial support to be rebuilt and strengthened.
My conversation with Sierra Leone shows once again that there is much work to be done, and that international community must urgently step-up its response.
Canada can and must do more to help the people of West Africa, and must turn its announcements into commitments on the ground.
As the United Nations said, a humane world cannot allow Africa to suffer on such an extraordinary scale.
James and Tamah Mulbah
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Ebola survivor James Mulbah, 2, stands with his mother, Tamah Mulbah, 28, who also recovered from Ebola in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center, after a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia.
Benetha Coleman
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Ebola survivor Benetha Coleman, 24, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after attending a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. She said that her husband and two children died due to the disease.
Jeremra Cooper
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Ebola survivor Jeremra Cooper, 16, wipes his face from the heat while in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The 8th grade student said he lost six family members to the Ebola epidemic before coming down sick with the disease himself and being sent to the MSF center, where he recovered after one month.
Zaizay Mulbah and Mark Jerry
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Ebola survivors Zaizay Mulbah, 34, and Mark Jerry, 30, right, stand together before their shifts as nurse's assistants at the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. Jerry was a money changer and Mulbah a delivery driver before they caught the disease and went to the center, where they recovered. Doctors Without Borders hired them afterward to counsel and comfort others stricken by the disease.
Eric Forkpa
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Ebola survivor Eric Forkpa, 23, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after meeting with fellow survivors on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The college student, who is majoring in civil engineering, said he thinks he caught Ebola while caring for his sick uncle, who died of the disease. He spent 18 days at the center recovering from the virus.
Emanuel Jolo
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Ebola survivor Emanuel Jolo, 19, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center after a survivors' meeting on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. The high school student lost six family members and believes he caught the disease while washing the body of his father, who died of Ebola.
Sontay Massaley
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Ebola survivor Sontay Massaley, 37, smiles upon her release from the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. Massaley, who spent 8 days recovering from the disease in the center, said she worked as a vendor in a market before contracting the virus.
Victoria Masah
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Ebola survivor Victoria Masah, 28, stands in the low-risk section of the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 16, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. She said her husband and two children died of Ebola.
Abrahim Quota
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Ebola survivor Abrahim Quota, 5, stands outside the JFK Ebola treatment center after recovering from the disease on October 13, 2014 in Monrovia, Liberia. He had arrived at the treatment center 10 days before with his parents, who both died there from the virus. The Ministry of Health was to deliver him home after his release to live with relatives.
Lassana Jabeteh
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Ebola survivor Lassana Jabeteh, 36, smiles before his shift as a nurse's assistant at the Doctors Without Borders Ebola treatment center on October 12, 2014 in Paynesville, Liberia. He said that he previously worked as a taxi driver and that he thinks he caught Ebola when he transported a sick policeman who vomited in his car on the way to the hospital. Doctors Without Borders hired Jabeteh after he recovered in their treatment center and he now counsels and comforts others stricken by the disease.
