Frontline health workers and families in Sierra Leone to receive vital supplies through UNICEF-EU partnership | WPN World People News

A cargo plane with nearly 100 metric tons of essential medical supplies left Amsterdam en route to Sierra Leone as part of UNICEF’s continuing response to the Ebola outbreak ravaging parts of West Africa. Similar flights are planned for Liberia and Guinea, part of a €1 million donation from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO).

"Each day the number of people infected and dying from this terrible disease is dramatically rising,” said Claus Sorensen, Director General of the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission. “Funding is critical. However, we need to find solutions that go beyond that. Close coordination of the response with partners such as UNICEF is vital to get the aid in time to the population in need."

The shipment includes protective equipment such as masks, gloves, aprons, coveralls, body bags, goggles, face shields as well as medicine and hygiene supplies to be distributed to households and health centers. This supply has been funded by donors, such as the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

“Ebola is shattering countries, communities and families,” said Yoka Brandt, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director. “Those risking their lives to care for the sick, whether they are health workers or family members, need to be properly protected. These supplies will help to keep them safe.”

To date, UNICEF has flown in more than 912 metric tons of supplies to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, in what is now the largest airlift operation of Ebola supplies.

Source: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund