3,700 children orphaned by Ebola

The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that since the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in February, an estimated 3,700 children have lost their parents in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

UNICEF made the revelation at the end of a two-week assessment during which it found out that some of the affected children are between the ages of three and five.

It further revealed that some of the children were found alone in the hospitals where their parents died or in communities where they were being catered to by affectionate neighbours.

With a casualty figure of more than 3,000 and an infection rate of more than 5,000, the three countries represented in the assessment are the worst hit of the virus.

The UN children’s agency also underlined the urgent need to establish a system for identifying and caring for Ebola orphans.

The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has predicted that an estimated 550, 000 to 1 million people might contract the highly-contagious virus before January.