By Mustapha Kamara
The Chief Executive of Save the Children UK says two million children are at risk of contracting the deadly Ebola virus that has killed thousands of people in West Africa since March.
Speaking at a presser in Freetown, Justin Forsyth said over 2,000 children in Sierra Leone had either lost one or both parents to the deadly disease, or were affected by it in some other ways.
“The Ebola disease has had a huge effect on children in Sierra Leone, as it has killed some children. For some, the virus has killed one or both of their parents,” he said, adding that the virus had also left thousands of children idle and open to dangers in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia because schools had closed down since the outbreak.
As an international nongovernmental organisation working for the protection of children in crisis, the Save The Children chief also said their office in Sierra Leone was working closely with the government to take care of children whose lives had been torn apart by Ebola.
In Kailahun, he said, they had supported the ministry of social welfare to run an interim care centre for those children who had lost parents to the virus, adding that they were also helping to find supportive homes for the children within the communities.
In partnership with the Sierra Leone government and other partners, Forsyth said they would be operating over a hundred bed facilities at the newly built Ebola health centre at Kerry Town which was recently built by the British Government and would be commissioned on Wednesday 5 November.
A report by the organisation also stated that over 50% of children who were affected by Ebola had stayed at different health facilities since the epidemic hit the country.
© Politico 04/11/14
