Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Freetown (Agenzia Fides) - "The situation due to the epidemic of Ebola is really horrible. Our health workers are subjected to very serious risks, and some of them have lost their lives", said Fr. Paul Sandi, Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Sierra Leone and Gambia, in an appeal launched to support the Catholic hospital in Serabu, 225 km from Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. The health facility has 80 beds and cares for 3,000 patients per year from six surrounding villages.
According to local Bishops the hospital urgently needs medicine, gloves, face masks and other medical equipment to cope not only with Ebola, but also cholera, malaria and typhoid fever, infections that are spreading because of social and economic instability caused by the epidemic of Ebola.
The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia is having serious repercussions on the economic and social fabric of these Countries. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) one million people in the three Countries affected by the epidemic are at risk of food. "The closure of the borders, quarantine measures, the prohibition of hunting and other restrictions taken to stop the spread of the virus, hinders people's access to food", said a statement from FAO and WFP (World Food Programme) that launch an appeal for urgent action in favor of the affected Countries. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/12/2014)
