Thousands of children orphaned by Ebola - UNICEF
4 Oct Xinhua
Over 3,700 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have lost one
or both parents to Ebola since the start of the outbreak in West Africa,
according to preliminary estimates by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF),
which was released here Monday, and many are being rejected by their
surviving relatives for fear of infection. “Thousands of children are
living through the deaths of their mother, father or family members from
Ebola,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF's regional director for West and
Central Africa, who just returned from a two-week visit to Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries hardest hit by the Ebola
crisis in West Africa, where more than 3,000 people have been killed
since the outbreak early this year.
“These children urgently need special attention and support; yet many
of them feel unwanted and even abandoned,” he said. “ Orphans are
usually taken in by a member of the extended family, but in some
communities, the fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family
ties.”
As the death toll from Ebola continues to rise, preliminary reports
from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone suggest that the number of
children orphaned by Ebola has spiked in the past few weeks and is
likely to double by mid-October, UNICEF said.Ebola is also exacting a
heavy emotional toll on children, especially when they or their parents
have to be isolated for treatment.
As it accelerates its Ebola response, UNICEF is looking at
traditional and new ways to help provide children with the physical and
emotional healing they need:In Liberia, UNICEF is helping the government
train 400 additional mental health and social workers. UNICEF is also
working with local authorities in the most affected counties to help
strengthen family and community support to children affected by Ebola
and provide care to those who have been rejected by their communities or
whose families have died.
Over the next 6 months more than 2,500 Ebola survivors -- now immune
to the disease will be trained in Sierra Leone to provide care and
support to quarantined children in treatment centers.
UNICEF is also working with partners to reunite separated children
with their families through an extensive family tracing network across
the country which also provides children with psychosocial support.
In Guinea, UNICEF and partners will provide about 60,000 vulnerable
children and families in Ebola-affected communities with psychosocial
support.UNICEF appealed for 200 million U.S. dollars to provide
emergency assistance to children and families affected by the Ebola
outbreak across the region, including protection activities. So far,
UNICEF has only received 25 percent of this amount.
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