http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/02/health/ebola-outbreak/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
In West Africa, nearly four thousand children have been orphaned by Ebola. Now those children are unable to find homes. While relatives would normally be quick to adopt them, fear of infection prevents many from taking these children in. The nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone now have to deal not only with Ebola but the thousands of orphans who have nowhere else to go. Fortunately, UNICEF is working on providing aid for them and educating people to increase the chances of adoption. But while they need around 200 million dollars to effectively work on the problem, only 25% of that amount is available. And the number of orphans is only going to increase as Ebola spreads. In Sierra Leone, five people are dying from the disease every hour.
I feel horrible for these kids. It would be bad enough to watch your parents die an awful death from Ebola, but these children are being left for dead with no one to take care of them. I hope UNICEF is able to raise the money they need to help with this problem. This disease is ravaging West Africa, but many people could survive it if they had the proper water resources, medical supplies, and hygenic hospitals. We need to work on providing them with these tools and on providing aid for the survivors and children.
The Ebola virus is affecting thousands of people, and it is now crossing oceans. I really do feel bad for these children, but the world's efforts should firstly be focused on containing the virus. Of course the children should also be helped, but helping them should not take priority over the rest of the world's inhabitants.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is an issue that has been easily overlooked by most news reports and articles concerning the Ebola virus. These kids can die if they have no one to look after them, so their lives are just as important as the victims. Like Ashley said, containing the virus should be the priority, but helping out these kids could save their lives and prevent the desease from spreading at the same time.
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