In The News this week on Ebola ...

                                     
                                     Photo credit : Creative Commons

In about a week from now, May 9 to be precise, Liberia may be declared Ebola free if no new cases occur in the nation before then.
It's been a tough battle to get to this point in the fight against Ebola in this country.
Finally the end seems to be in sight.
We are hopeful that this time around no new cases will emerge before the set date.

As Schools  reopen in Sierra Leone after about nine months of a national school closure due to the Ebola epidemic the reality of the losses due to the crisis begins to stare the nation and her people in the face.

Cases have reduced drastically and it is our hope that this reduction in the number of cases will be sustained.

The turn out at some of the schools was said to be low on Tuesday April 14, the first day of school this year.
This was attributed to several factors such as :

- Fears and uncertainties about the eradication of the virus by parents and care givers

- Poor socio economic condition of the parents and care givers due to the disruption of flow of income due to the epidemic

-  Lost financiers and supporters due to death of parents and care givers

- Teenage pregnancy

It is believed that the numbers will improve in the days ahead.

About 12,000 children were orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone. Some of these children are also Ebola survivors.

The Ebola orphans in Sierra Leone face several survival challenges on daily basis.
Some of the young girls constantly face sexual exploitation and rape due to the lack of the protection usually given by parents.
Some of these children have had to exchange sex for food as there is no one responsible for them any more.
Many young girls in the country are now pregnant and many still face insecurities and hunger on daily basis.

Many of the parents who have made it through the crisis are poor and are struggling. They are barely able to put food on the table let alone cater for the daily needs of their children.
Some of these parents complain that they cannot afford to send the children to school at this time since they were barely making ends meet before the schools were reopened.

The challenges in Sierra Leone post Ebola seem to be enormous.

Humanitarian organizations and world leaders are already looking into the situation to see the gaps that need to be filled urgently.

The issue of what to do with the children who have no caregivers or parents need to be addressed urgently so as to reduce the chances of more cases of rape and sexual exploitation which may worsen the already not so good situation.

In Guinea cases have also reduced and a further decline in the number of cases is expected.

The WHO has promised to try to identify all Ebola cases by June.