Jeffrey Gettleman December 6, 2014
KERRY TOWN, Sierra Leone -
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But one piece is missing: staff. The facility opened recently with a skeleton crew. Now, in an especially hard-hit area where people are dying every day because they cannot get into an Ebola clinic, 60 of the 80 beds at the Kerry Town Ebola clinic are not being used.
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The latest Ebola numbers are ominous. This past week, Sierra Leone reported almost 100 new cases in a single day, nearly double the number just 10 days before - and those are only the confirmed cases, which health experts say may be a third of the total. At this rate, the swelling roster of the gravely ill will far outstrip even the most optimistic projections for new hospital beds.
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All across the refugee camps and war zones of Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few, are legions of young aid workers shouting into walkie-talkies and scrambling around in vests stamped with "OCHA," as the office is known. But in Sierra Leone right now, there are very few to be seen.
"I have no idea why OCHA isn't doing this, and I think OCHA has no idea why they're not doing this," said Michael von Bertele, the global humanitarian director for Save the Children.
One U.N. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said OCHA defined the Ebola crisis as a "systemic medical issue."
more..
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/w...erra-leone-poor-planning-thwarts-efforts.html
KERRY TOWN, Sierra Leone -
snip
But one piece is missing: staff. The facility opened recently with a skeleton crew. Now, in an especially hard-hit area where people are dying every day because they cannot get into an Ebola clinic, 60 of the 80 beds at the Kerry Town Ebola clinic are not being used.
snip
The latest Ebola numbers are ominous. This past week, Sierra Leone reported almost 100 new cases in a single day, nearly double the number just 10 days before - and those are only the confirmed cases, which health experts say may be a third of the total. At this rate, the swelling roster of the gravely ill will far outstrip even the most optimistic projections for new hospital beds.
Big snip
All across the refugee camps and war zones of Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few, are legions of young aid workers shouting into walkie-talkies and scrambling around in vests stamped with "OCHA," as the office is known. But in Sierra Leone right now, there are very few to be seen.
"I have no idea why OCHA isn't doing this, and I think OCHA has no idea why they're not doing this," said Michael von Bertele, the global humanitarian director for Save the Children.
One U.N. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said OCHA defined the Ebola crisis as a "systemic medical issue."
more..
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/w...erra-leone-poor-planning-thwarts-efforts.html
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