Sierra Leone

WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL                             Aug. 18, 2015

THE RAVAGING of populations in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea by the Ebola virus over the past year has been devastating. The virus killed 10,702 people and left behind vast economic and emotional tolls. The rest of the world responded slowly to the outbreak but eventually rallied. Now it is time to do the same with the aftermath and extend a hand for rebuilding...

The outbreak has receded, but weak local health-care systems proved inadequate when the virus began to spread last year, and improvements are vital in all three countries, especially a much-strengthened system of surveillance to spot any resurgence. Trained health-care workers are in short supply. A small but important step was taken recently in the announcement that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help set up an African CDC that could keep the continent one step ahead of another scourge. But the rest of the world also has a stake in making sure that the region builds a better firewall against infectious disease....

CGN                                                    April 17, 2015

(Scroll down for underlying press release.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a free smartphone application that provides intuitive coaching on CDC's guidelines for proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent transmission of Ebola.

Powered by 22otters, a mobile patient engagement platform, CDC's PPE app is an animated, speech-enabled, step-by-step mobile coaching tool to help healthcare workers access easy-to-follow directions for putting on and removing PPE and respirators in accordance with CDC guidelines to prevent transmission of Ebola. Following the initial Ebola app release, 22otters will release a variant of the app allowing training progress tracking and content modules customized for providers.

THE WORLD BANK                                                                           April 17, 2015

New GDP Estimates Show International Support Vital to Speed Recovery

WASHINGTON--The World Bank Group (WBG) announced today that it would provide at least US$650 million during the next 12 to 18 months to help Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone recover from the devastating social and economic impact of the Ebola crisis and advance their longer-term development needs. The new WBG pledge brings the organization’s total financing for Ebola response and recovery efforts to date to US$1.62 billion.

The additional funding announcement comes as the WBG releases new GDP estimates showing that the Ebola epidemic continues to cripple the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Estimated GDP losses for the three countries in 2015 rose to US$2.2 billion: US$240 million for Liberia, US$535 million for Guinea and US$1.4 billion for Sierra Leone. In addition to the severe effects of Ebola, the economic downturn in the three countries is aggravated by the sharp decline in global iron ore prices, as well as the collapse of the mining sector in Sierra Leone...

WASHINGTON POST  by Todd C. Frankel                                                        April 16, 2015

Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma was ready to talk about something besides Ebola.

Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma, left, and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf listen as U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement to the news media in the Cabinet Room at the White House April 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. Obama and his counterparts discussed their progress in the fight against the Ebola virus and their efforts to create long-term economic recovery for the West African countries. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

His West African nation is not yet Ebola-free. It is still fighting to rid itself of the feared pathogen, which has killed more than 10,000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia since March 2014. But today the number of new Ebola cases in Sierra Leone has slowed to a trickle. The country recorded just seven new confirmed infections last week. Last November, Sierra Leone was reporting 550 new cases a week.