Sierra Leone’s first dedicated facility providing hands-on training for health workers to safely treat Ebola patients will open in the town of Lunsar within weeks, thanks to the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and International Medical Corps. The facility which is currently under construction will soon begin training doctors, nurses, community health workers and midwives on infection control, case management of Ebola patients and correct usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
International Medical Corps will also be constructing a 50 bed Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) in Lunsar, with funding support from CIFF. The new unit will begin admitting Ebola patients within weeks. Referral clinics will screen suspected Ebola patients closer to their homes before bringing those confirmed with the virus to the ETU. International Medical Corps is one of only a handful of international NGOs in the world to be treating Ebola patients.
Hussein Ibrahim, International Medical Corps’ Country Director in Sierra Leone commented, “More than 240 health care workers have now died from Ebola since the outbreak began. It is doctors and nurses who are on the frontline of the battle against Ebola, and it is essential they receive the training and support they need to stay safe. This training centre will be a vital asset for Sierra Leone’s health workers as we act to bring the Ebola crisis under control.”
The £5.4 million ($8.9 million) of funding from CIFF to International Medical Corps is part of a £12.5 million ($20 million) Ebola response from the London-based philanthropy. This is the biggest commitment that CIFF has ever made to a humanitarian crisis and is based on an assessment that the outbreak poses an unprecedented threat that can be stopped with quick, effective and coordinated action.
“The Ebola outbreak puts at risk the tremendous progress that has been achieved in West Africa over the past few decades,” said CIFF’s Chief Executive Michael Anderson. “By contributing to the global emergency response, we are supporting front line health workers who are doing an incredible and challenging job every day and night. While working to care for patients and their families, it’s essential to also maintain wider primary and preventive health systems, particularly those needed to ensure that children are able to survive and thrive.”
Kevin Noone, International Medical Corps UK Executive Director, said “Thanks to the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, International Medical Corps will soon be training health workers, screening patients and treating those confirmed with Ebola. This comprehensive approach and the support of organisations like CIFF, is precisely what is needed if we are to halt the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.”
In Sierra Leone more than 5,300 people have been infected with Ebola and 1,500 have died.
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Notes for Editors
International Medical Corps representatives on the ground in Sierra Leone are available for comment and arrangements can be made for journalists to visit the facility.
Please contact:
Josh Harris
Communications Manager
+44 (0)20 7017 3161
+44 (0)77 3902 1000
jharris@internationalmedicalcorps.org.uk