As of October 20, over 4,500 people had died in the current West African Ebola outbreak. When confronted with those numbers and the terrifying news stories that accompany them, it’s easy to forget the larger, quieter tragedy that’s playing out behind the scenes.
Before this outbreak, both Sierra Leone and Liberia were already struggling for stability in the wake of civil wars. Their infrastructures were weak. Huge numbers of people relied on subsistence agriculture just to stay alive, and literacy and child mortality rates were some of the worst in the world. Now that those already-fragile health systems are completely overwhelmed, treatable illnesses like malaria and typhoid threaten more children's lives than Ebola. Expectant mothers are afraid to go to hospitals — or are turned away — and are needlessly dying of sepsis in childbirth. Two nations of children will likely miss an entire year of school. And disruptions to crop harvesting and food prices mean that many will soon be without enough to eat.
Concern is working hard to address the big picture, because we know from four decades of experience that that is the way to save the most lives. Donate now to help us fight Ebola in West Africa. And find out more about the hidden costs of Ebola below: