C.R.S. Continues Response to Ebola

Catholic Relief Services has committed more than $1.5 million in private funds to continue its emergency response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has so far killed 2,800 people. While the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak contained in Senegal and Nigeria, the number of deaths and people infected with the virus continues to increase rapidly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. C.R.S. has worked with the local Catholic Church, religious leaders and the ministries of health in all three countries on public awareness campaigns aimed at teaching the population about Ebola. “There is still a huge need to educate the public in all of the affected countries about Ebola, how it spreads and what actions people need to take to protect themselves and their families,” says Meredith Stakem, C.R.S.’s Regional Technical Advisor for Health. With health care systems overwhelmed, many people aren’t receiving care for non-life-threatening conditions, and now health officials are seeing an increase in preventable deaths from illnesses like malaria.