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11/02/2024 09:33:10 am

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Hunger Drives Thousands in Sierra Leone to Violate Ebola Quarantine

Ebola Virus

(Photo : REUTERS) People lined up for food at a World Food Program distribution point in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Saturday.

Thousands of Sierra Leone residents were forced to break the Ebola quarantine in the country because of food shortage, aid agencies reported.

Reports said that the World Food Program of the United Nations, which was tasked with the responsibility of delivering aid to the quarantined people in regions of the country that were completely sealed off, was unable to reach the homes of the people.

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On Tuesday, Jeanne Kamara, representative of Christian Aid's Sierra Leone, said the "nooks and crannies" of the Ebola-ridden country is not getting any humanitarian aid from the UN's World Food Program.

In addition, Kamara said that aid workers were supposed to visit every houses under quarantine to monitor the situation and make a list of the residents' needs, however, she said that because the rate of infection is growing exponentially, the aid workers are have difficulty in keeping up with every house and resident under quarantine.

Because of the food shortage, Sierra Leone residents, who are supposed to be under home quarantines are violating the protocol and were seen venturing the streets and the markets to look for food, Kamara said.

Although the imposed quarantine may potentially curve the outbreak, the Disasters Emergency Committee said Monday, that the move will cut-off food supply to thousands of people.

The committee, which is an umbrella organization of aid agencies, released a statement saying that the quarantine imposed in Sierra Leone's third largest town, Kenema, is creating a massive impact in the country's trade.

The committee said that because of the quarantine, food delivery trucks cannot enter the town because travel has been restricted.

This has led to the scarcity of food and an increase on the prices of food and other commodities.

Because of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the government, in cooperation with the global community, has gone to extreme lengths in trying to contain the epidemic, which has now taken the lives of nearly 5,000 people.

The country announced Tuesday that it will impose quarantines in several regions and will maintain the state of emergency for a year.

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