Ebola epidemic conquered Thousands of orphans are in need of help

Challenges after the end of the Ebola epidemic
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa was a disaster for the countries concerned, affecting all of society. In the meantime, however, the disease seems to be under control again in all affected states. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the Ebola epidemic in Guinea over. Sierra Leone has already made that move and Liberia is expected to follow suit in January. However, the states are still struggling with the consequences of the epidemic. For example, thousands of orphans are in need of help, health systems need to be rebuilt, and the stigma of survival needs to be addressed.

According to the WHO, no person has been tested for Ebola in Guinea for 42 days, and the Ebola transmission can be officially declared closed. This is followed by a 90-day phase of increased surveillance to ensure that potential new cases are identified immediately before other people become infected. In total, in the course of the epidemic, around 28,600 people contracted Ebola and more than 11,000 died as a result of the infection. Thousands of children became half or full orphans. They now urgently need assistance, warns the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

22,000 orphans due to the epidemic
Although the official end of the Ebola epidemic in Guinea is a good occasion, "we must remember that the children were particularly hard hit by Ebola", emphasizes. Mohamed Ag Ayoya, UNICEF representative in Guinea. "Over 22,000 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone lost one or both parents. They are traumatized and continue to be stigmatized in their neighborhood, "Ayoya continues. For these thousands of girls and boys, the official end of the epidemic is not the end of the outbreak, as they will face the consequences throughout their lives. In Guinea alone, 6,220 children have lost one or both parents or their primary caregiver. According to UNICEF, the orphans urgently need help, but the children who survived an Ebola infection also need help.

Thousands of children in West Africa have been orphaned by the Ebola epidemic and now need help. (Image: Riccardo Niels Mayer / fotolia.com)

Building health systems needed
The experts at the UN Children's Fund see the main challenges after the end of the Ebola epidemic, especially in the (re) building of health systems, which were deeply shaken by Ebola. In Guinea, for example, vaccinations for children under the age of one had dropped by 30 percent, all hospital admissions had dropped by 54 percent and training by trained staff had dropped by 11 percent. "Weak health systems in the three affected countries fueled the Ebola epidemic and today the system in Guinea is even weaker," Ayoya says.

Orphans need support
WHO and its local partners are currently focusing their efforts on providing access to medical and psychosocial care to all survivors and building a comprehensive screening for persistent viruses. According to the WHO, treatment and education against the stigmatization of the survivors should also be addressed. UNICEF claims to have been working to provide sufficient drinking water and sanitation to the local population since the beginning of the outbreak, and supports orphans and other affected children to ensure that all girls and boys can continue their education. Because attending school is the basis for their future and millions of children were not in school for months during the epidemic. (Fp)