Africa

Sierra Leone will impose a three-day countrywide shutdown starting Sept. 19

Thomson Reuters Posted: Sep 06, 2014 7:12 AM ET

Last Updated: Sep 07, 2014 2:05 PM ET

Sierra Leone's proposed countrywide "lockdown" will not help control an Ebola outbreak and could lead to the disease spreading further as cases are concealed, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Saturday.

The government plans to order citizens not to leave the areas around their homes for three days from Sept. 19 in a bid to halt new infections and help health workers track down people suffering from the disease, the information ministry said on Saturday.

Head of Médecins sans Frontières says the world is 'losing the battle' as cases and deaths continue to surge

MSF - theguardian.com - by Sarah Boseley - September 2, 2014

Military teams should be sent to west Africa immediately if there is to be any hope of controlling the Ebola epidemic, doctors on the frontline told the United Nations on Tuesday, painting a stark picture of health workers dying, patients left without care and infectious bodies lying in the streets.

The international president of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), Dr Joanne Liu, told member states that although alarm bells had been ringing for six months, the response had been too little, too late and no amount of vaccinations and new drugs would be able to prevent the escalating disaster.

"Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it," Liu said.

A man who left an Ebola quarantine center in Monrovia in search of food was jeered by an angry and fearful crowd at a local market. The man was subsequently chased down by doctors and forced into an ambulance. (Reuters)

washingtonpost.com - by Lena H. Sun and and Brady Dennis - September 2, 2014

Leading international health officials said Tuesday that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is accelerating and the window for getting it under control is closing.

“Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it,” Joanne Liu, international president of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, said in a briefing at the United Nations. She faulted world leaders for failing to recognize the severity of the crisis sooner and said charities and West African governments alone do not have the capacity to stem the outbreak.