{"id":73504,"date":"2015-04-21T02:13:53","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T02:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=73504"},"modified":"2015-04-21T02:13:53","modified_gmt":"2015-04-21T02:13:53","slug":"unmeer-srsg-lauds-school-reopening-in-sierra-leone-says-country-is-set-to-defeat-ebola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=73504","title":{"rendered":"UNMEER SRSG lauds school reopening in Sierra Leone, says country is set to defeat Ebola"},"content":{"rendered":"

Freetown \u2013 16 April, 2015 – The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has welcomed the reopening of schools in Sierra Leone as a sign that the country was returning to normalcy. \u00a0(Photo: Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (right), Ms. Bintou Keita (middle) and other Ebola response coordinators meet with survivors at Hagan Street, Freetown)<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed acknowledged that all schools may not reopen at the same time. However, he encouraged teachers, communities and parents to educate children on Ebola prevention protocols. \u201cChildren can be great social mobilizers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who was on a two-day visit to Sierra Leone with the World Health Organization\u2019s Assistant Director General, Bruce Aylward, <\/strong><\/em>thanked the government, the UN-system, particularly the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), for making the schools safe again.<\/p>\n

UNICEF trained of 9,000 teachers in Ebola prevention, safety guidelines and psycho-social support and provided 24,300 hand washing stations and cleaning equipment are being distributed to about 8000 schools.<\/p>\n

In a subsequent radio interview, Sierra Leone\u2019s Ebola Crisis Manager, Bintou Keita, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of students on the first day of school and hoped that more students will resume class in the coming days.<\/p>\n

Ms. Keita maintained that even children who were not in school before Ebola outbreak could also now get enrolled. \u201cInvestment in children is investment in the future of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Ms. Keita and Mr. Aylward also visited the Ebola Response Centers in Kambia and Port Loko Districts and Western Area where they were briefed on efforts at achieving and sustaining zero transmission.<\/p>\n

The SRSG said that Sierra Leone was on the right track to defeating Ebola. \u201cI must say that the fundamentals are in place. Transmission used to be in double digits but now we are having single digits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebola transmissions in Sierra Leone are now confined to Kambia and Port Loko districts as well as the Western Area, which includes Freetown.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed warned against two factors that could inhibit success. The first is when EVD deaths are not coming from contact lists and the second is when people with symptoms report late. \u201cI must emphasize that if people who have symptoms report early, their chances of survival are higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Centre in Port Loko, Mr. Aylward said that the period when everyone is fighting to achieve zero transmission could be very difficult. \u201cIt can be depressing, it can be demoralizing, but don\u2019t give up,\u201d he beseeched response workers. \u201cIf it appears to be quiet, it is not a sign that everything is under control. Capabilities have to be sustained,\u201d added Ms. Keita.<\/p>\n

Port Loko recorded zeros several days preceding the visit of the top UN officials. Although there is still transmission in Kambia, the delegation was informed of a significant reduction in deaths from quarantined homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very impressed with your plan,\u201d noted Mr. Mr. Aylward who, together with the SRSG and the ECM, called on communities to take ownership of the Ebola fight.<\/p>\n

In Western Area, 608 persons in 181 households are currently under quarantine, the UN officials were briefed. However, 5 households comprising 21 persons had just completed the 21-day quarantine period, and more are expected to be released soon.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed and Sierra Leone\u2019s UNMEER Emergency Crisis Manager, Ms. Keita, also visited Hagan Street market in Freetown to inspect a public toilet disinfection project scheme funded by UNMEER\u2019s Quick Impact Project. The virus was contained in the densely populated community due in part to the disinfection.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the youth involved in the project, the SRSG said: \u201cWe are so close to defeating Ebola that we cannot let the success we are getting slip off.\u201d He said the international community would assist but that Sierra Leoneans will have to make the difference. \u201cThat is why I am very happy with your efforts in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kingsley Ighobor, UNMEER PIO<\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Freetown \u2013 16 April, 2015 – The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":73505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}