The poor in crisis as Ebola leaves a mark on the whole country.

The scale of the Ebola outbreak appears to be "vastly underestimated", the UN's health agency says, as the death toll from the disease reaches 1,069 with 783 deaths Sierra Leone
The World Health Organization said its staff had seen evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths do not reflect the scale of the crisis and is co-ordinating a massive scaling up of the international response.

 More than 300 patients have been admitted to MSF isolation centres in Sierra Leone. To date about 50 have recovered and returned home. A girl of 18 is being discharged after her recovery from the Ebola virus. That is the good news.

The WHO said that of the challenge was the fact that the outbreak was in "settings characterised by extreme poverty, dysfunctional health systems, a severe shortage of doctors and rampant fear".

To give you an idea of the difference between what we are used to in the UK and Sierra Leone, the last figures available, (2012) show that in Sierra Leone health spending per person was £58, in the UK it was £2197

That year Sierra Leone had 2.2 doctors for every 100,000 people. The UK had 279.

Resources in Sierra Leone are drained by malaria treatment and the economic effects of the civil war which ended in 2002.

Alpha Kargbo, our Development Director, says that the urgent need is economic, because people are told to stay in their homes. They cannot earn money. Petty trading is impossible. Shops are closed. Goods cannot be easily transported. The borders are closed. The price of everything, especially food, has gone up. I am looking at ways to send more than our normal payment of £600 to support the teachers in our schools.

Extra money would help families who have taken in extended family, such as orphaned grand-children, nephews and nieces. The children create problems as they become an extra burden in very difficult times. If you have ideas or can contribute in any way,  please get in touch with me.

Sierra Leone declares a state of emergency

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma has declared a state of emergency, lasting initially between 60 and 90 days, because of the Ebola crisis.    "Sierra Leone is in a great fight ... Failure is not an option," he said,   "Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures."  

President Koroma

He has cancelled a visit to Washington and will meet the leaders of Liberia and Guinea in Conakry on Friday 1st August to discuss the epidemic. 

The state of emergency means that the police and the military can enforce a quarantine on all the epicentres of the disease, and are required to protect health officers from attack by local communities.

House-to-house searches will be implemented to trace Ebola victims and homes where the disease was identified can be quarantined until cleared by medical teams.   

Public meeting have been banned unless related to Ebola. 

Passengers arriving and departing Lungi International Airport will be subject to new protocols, including body temperature scans. However the  international airlines association IATA said the World Health Organisation was not recommending any travel restrictions or border closures due to the outbreak, and there would be a low risk to other passengers if an Ebola patient flew.

A man has his temperature taken at Lungi Airport. Anyone with a temperature of above 101.6F (38.7C) will be prevented from flying. Passengers are also required to wash their hands in chlorinated water.

Ebola has been blamed for 672 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.