HIGHLIGHTS
• As of 10 December 2014, according to the Government of Sierra Leone, the cumulative number of laboratory confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases is 6,375. The number of confirmed deaths is 1,559 and 1,221 have been discharged from treatment (survivors). The government estimates that around 22 percent of cases are children (0-17 years).*
• To date, the UNICEF-led Family Tracing and Reunification (FTR) network has identified 10,014 children as being directly affected by the Ebola crisis (5.090 girls and 4,924 boys). This is an increase of 490 affected children from the previous reporting period.** This total includes 4,597 children who have lost one or both parents to EVD, an increase of 248 since the previous report.
• More than 2 million people (above six months of age) benefited from receiving life-saving antimalarial drugs in the four day, door to door mass drug administration (MDA) campaign that was conducted from 5 to 8 December 2014, across the Western Area (Urban & Rural) and in hotspots areas in Bombali, Kambia, Koinadugu, Moyamba, Port Loko, and Tonkolili. The MDA campaign was led by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), through its National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), with support from MSF and UNICEF. Over 9,000 heath workers were trained and mobilized to implement the campaign.***
• In Bombali, as of 10 December 2014, the 15 UNICEF-supported community care centres (CCCs) have seen 160 patients. In Tonkolili, one of the 13 CCCs is operational and has admitted its first patient. The construction of the 12 CCCs in Kambia is on schedule for completion by 15 December 2014. UNICEF will also support two CCCs in the Western Area, each with a capacity of 24 beds – construction at these sites is also underway.
• Given the unprecedented scale of the crisis and increasing needs in the country, especially for children, UNICEF Sierra Leone has revised its initial humanitarian action for children (HAC) appeal from US$ 61 million to US$ 178 million, covering to the end of June 2015. There is a current funding gap of 61 percent.