Thousands
of people in Sierra Leone are being forced to violate Ebola quarantines
to find food because deliveries are not reaching them, aid agencies
said. Large swaths of the West African country have been sealed off to
prevent the spread of Ebola, and within those areas many people have
been ordered to stay in their homes. The government, with help from the
U.N.’s World Food Program, is tasked with delivering food and other
services to those people. But there are many “nooks and crannies” in the
country that are being missed, said Jeanne Kamara, Christian Aid’s
Sierra Leone representative.
Food is becoming scarce, which has led to prices increasing beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Jeanne Kamara, Christian Aid’s Sierra Leone representative
The
Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed nearly 5,000 people, and
authorities have gone to extreme lengths to bring it under control,
including the quarantines in Sierra Leone. Similar restrictions have
also been used in Liberia and Guinea, the two other countries hardest
hit by the epidemic. The World Health Organization said much more is
needed to battle the outbreak. There are currently 16 treatment centers
up and running, and 58 more planned. To staff those centers, 500 foreign
health care workers and 4,000 national ones are still needed.
The
quarantine of Kenema, the third-largest town in Sierra Leone, is having
a devastating impact on trade—travel is restricted so trucks carrying
food cannot freely drive around.
President Ernest Bai’s address to political leaders in Sierra Leone