International Federation of Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies have issued an international emergency appeal of SFr8.5m to contain the spread of Ebola Virus Disease beyond Guinea
IFRC’s Regional Director for Africa, Mohammed Mukhier, stated, “Ebola does not care about borders. Close social, cultural and economic ties between communities in Guinea and neighbouring countries create a very serious risk of the virus spreading to Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone, and potentially even further.
“That’s why we are launching an integrated cross-border operation aimed at rapidly confining the outbreak to its current location—and swiftly containing any eventual outbreak beyond Guinea.”
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According to the statement, Red Cross teams are mobilised in Guinea to conduct safe and dignified burials for two people who were killed by EVD.
“This outbreak is likely to complicate an already challenging situation. Coronavirus Disease-related containment measures currently being implemented have exacerbated food insecurity in the region, and this may lead to the reluctance of communities to respect new preventive measures that are being put in place to contain Ebola,” Mukhier added.
The Red Cross actions will target an additional six million people. There are an estimated 1.3 million people living in the health zone affected by the outbreak. The Guinea Red Cross and IFRC plan aims to support about 420,000 of them with a range of services, including community sensitisation, community-based surveillance, water, sanitation and hygiene, safe and dignified burials, infection prevention and control, as well as psycho-social support.
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