“Some people have denied that Ebola exists,” says Marian, a community health worker in Sierra Leone. “There are so many misconceptions.
“Some people say the authorities are lying.”
According to recent figures, five people are infected every hour and the number of new cases reported is doubling every few weeks.
Confronting rumours and myths
Ebola is spreading across Sierra Leone at an alarming rate, yet half the battle is to confront the rumours and myths that so often sweep through communities in times of crisis.
Sarah, the manager of a local health centre, used to see 20 to 30 children every day as well as 10 or more mothers. But there has been a dramatic reduction in attendance since the outbreak.
According to Sarah, “they are scared to come because they are always saying that when they come to the hospital we class them all as Ebola patients.”
Common illnesses going untreated
This fear means that common illnesses such as respiratory tract infections, malaria, diarrhoea and vomiting, are going untreated - sometimes with serious consequences.
“Most of the children are not coming to the clinic because their mothers are scared to bring them,” says Sarah. The children “are dying because of the fear of Ebola.”
“I met a mother when we went out,” she continues, “her child was very malnourished.
“He was unable to eat. So we tried to talk to the mother about the child’s condition. We advised the mother and told her to bring the child to the hospital.
“She promised us that she would come but she never did.
“The understanding is not there”
“The understanding is not there. We tell them what will happen if they don’t come to the clinic but only a few come. But that will not stop us. We will continue our work to raise awareness.”
In the face of this unprecedented health crisis, it is vitally important that communities are given the tools and knowledge to protect themselves. Save the Children has funded Sarah’s clinic and is also providing training and support for the community health workers.
Patrick is one of these. He learnt about Ebola through a number of workshops run by Save the Children and other NGOs.
Initially, they would go door-to-door to see whether there were any suspected cases of Ebola, but now they are also giving people health and hygiene advice.
“We must overcome our fear”
Patrick says: “Ebola is killing a lot of people…As a community health worker, you have made a vow to serve the community. You can be afraid of the disease, but we are there to raise awareness and we must overcome our fear.
We are not doing this for ourselves, but for the unborn children and for our future.”
