Food for the Hungry Partners with Integral Alliance to Quell Ebola Infections in Liberia
Phoenix, Ariz. (PRWEB) October 22, 2014 -- Food for the Hungry (FH), through an Integral Alliance partnership that includes Medical Teams International (MTI), is helping to prevent Ebola from spreading in Liberia, working in seven Liberian counties.
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that there could be up to 10,000 new Ebola cases per week in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by the end of 2014. The mortality rate has climbed from 50 percent to 70 percent.
“WHO says that the most effective way to stop the disease is to quickly lower the infection rate, especially in West Africa,” said Pete Howard, FH’s Director of Emergency Response. "That’s our goal.” The Integral Alliance partnership will perform the following:
Social Mobilization – Educate the public about the virus, how it spreads, how to kill it, how to report it and what to do if family or friends show symptoms.
Home Based Infection Prevention and Control – Teach people how to care for infected family members, and provide kits of gloves, plastic sheeting, a bucket and other items to safely care for loved ones until they can be transferred an Ebola treatment center.
Triage at Clinics – Help keep the health care system working by ensuring that clinicians stay safe from infection, that Ebola cases stay quarantined and people with other illnesses to seek proper medical care.
Restoration of Essential Health Services – Ensure that maternal and child health remain safe and that children continue to receive vital immunizations, which has dropped since the Ebola outbreak because mothers fear taking their children to health clinics.
FH is also working with its own staff in Africa to help them stay safe and informed on the outbreak.
Founded in 1971, Food for the Hungry provides emergency relief and long-term development programs with operations in more than 20 countries to help the world's most vulnerable people. Learn more by visiting http://www.fh.org. Social connections include http://www.facebook.com/foodforthehungry and http://www.twitter.com/food4thehungry.
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Megan Rose, Food for the Hungry, http://fh.org, +1 (602) 690-0801 Ext: 1184, [email protected]
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