The 2016 GEF ECW for the Coastal West Africa Constituency will take place in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 10 to 13 May 2016.

The ECWs bring together GEF focal points, national focal points from the main international environmental conventions (biodiversity, desertification, climate change, and persistent organic pollutants), representatives from the civil society, GEF Agencies, and the GEF Secretariat. These workshops are an opportunity for participants to meet with their counterparts from other regional countries and other GEF partners, to discuss and review policies and procedures, and to share lessons and experiences from development and implementation of GEF projects and their integration within national policy frameworks.

follow on: https://www.thegef.org/gef/ECW-Sierra-Leone-2016

WHO Director-General briefs media on outcome of Ebola Emergency Committee

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us.

The ninth meeting of the Emergency Committee on Ebola, convened today under the International Health Regulations, has advised me that the Ebola situation in West Africa no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Although the response to a cluster of new Ebola cases and deaths is being reported in Guinea, that flare-up currently involves a single chain of transmission. It is the Committee's view that the countries have the capacities and capabilities to manage such flares.

To date, nearly 1000 contacts related to this flare-up have been identified, of whom 142 are considered at high risk of exposure.

In making its assessment, the Committee reviewed data on this new cluster of cases together with responses to earlier Ebola flare-ups that occurred after the original chains of transmission were interrupted in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The response to each and every one of these flares was immediate and very effectively contained.

Statement on the 9th meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

The 9th meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa took place by teleconference on Tuesday, 29 March 2016 from 12:30 until 15:15 hr.

The Committee was requested to provide the Director-General with views and perspectives as to whether the event continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and whether the current Temporary Recommendations should be extended, rescinded or revised.

Representatives of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone presented the epidemiological situation, ongoing work to prevent Ebola re-emergence, and capacity to detect and respond rapidly to any new clusters of cases in each country.

At a national dialogue on Global Environment Facility Financing Mechanism held at the Sierra Lighthouse hall, Aberdeen, Madam Haddiatu Jallow on Wednesday told participants that Sierra Leone is rated the three most vulnerable country to climate change and other environmental hazards.

Significance

Since the initial recognition of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 1976, many epidemics have occurred in Africa. Serious concerns remain that the fatal disease may repeatedly reemerge. In this study, we used data from an unprecedented EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone to map spatiotemporal transmission patterns, identify influential factors, and assess the effects of interventions at the chiefdom level. Furthermore, we have quantified household transmissibility and the temporal association between interventions and household transmission. Our findings have deepened the understanding of the transmission dynamics of EVD and provided key information for future modeling efforts in forecasting future epidemics and establishing intervention strategies.

Abstract

At a national dialogue on Global Environment Facility Financing Mechanism held at the Sierra Lighthouse hall, Aberdeen, Madam Haddiatu Jallow on Wednesday told participants that Sierra Leone is rated the three most vulnerable country to climate change and other environmental hazards.
Mrs Jallow, Executive Chairman of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Sierra Leone, in her statement, explained to participants some of the crucial challenges that humanity is facing due to the rapid degradation of the environment and pointed out that some of the economic and agricultural impacts that Sierra Leone has been experiencing over the years.

who.int - February 24, 2016

CLICK HERE - WHO - Interim Guidance - Clinical Care for Survivors of Ebola Virus Disease

Overview

Today, there are over 10 000 survivors of Ebola virus disease. A number of medical problems have been reported in survivors, including mental health issues. Ebola virus may persist in some body fluids, including semen. Ebola survivors need comprehensive support for the medical and psychosocial challenges they face and also to minimize the risk of continued Ebola virus transmission.

WHO has developed this document to guide health services on how to provide quality care to survivors of Ebola virus disease. Table of contents include:

Introduction

Planning follow-up of the Ebola survivor

Common sequelae of Ebola virus disease and recommended evaluation and clinical management

Considerations for special populations

Monitoring for persistent Ebola virus infection in survivors: guidelines for testing and counselling

Infection prevention and control considerations in survivors

The Obama administration said Tuesday it will allow foreign nationals from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa to stay in the U.S. for another six months, even though global health officials said the outbreak that killed 11,000 people abroad is officially over.

As Guinea quarantines 816 

A fifth person has died of Ebola in southeast Guinea since March 17, a health official told Reuters on Tuesday, raising concerns that a recent flare-up of the deadly virus could spread.

The latest case was detected in Macenta prefecture, about 200 kilometers from the village of Korokpara where the four other recent Ebola-related deaths occurred, said Fode Sylla Tass, spokesman for National Coordination of the Fight against Ebola in Guinea.

Half of those who contracted measles over the past 15 years were unvaccinated, and in most of those cases the patient (or their legal guardian) refused the vaccination, reports a new study published online earlier this week by the “Journal of the American Medical Association.”

World Health Organisation had just announced ‘milestone’ of no new infections in neighbouring Sierra Leone when latest fatalities came to light

During the Ebola outbreak of 1995 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, eight patients with Ebola were given blood transfusions from people who had recently recovered from Ebola. Seven of them survived.

The blood of people who have recently recovered from an infection contains antibodies that the body develops naturally to fight that infection. The transfusion of these antibodies into infected individuals (as whole blood, plasma, or concentrated antibodies) has a long history and has been proposed as a possible treatment for Ebola virus disease.

see more at: http://www.dddmag.com/news/2016/03/treating-ebola-plasma

Image: A village hosting internally displaced people in Mora, Cameroon, where Boko Haram fighters have conducted raids on livestock. The hunt for food appears to be pushing the militants deeper into Cameroon. Credit Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

nytimes.com - March 4th 2016 - Dionne Searcey

At first, the attack had all the hallmarks of a typical Boko Haram assault. Armed fighters stormed a town on the border with Nigeria, shooting every man they saw.

But this time, instead of burning homes and abducting hostages, the fighters gathered cows, goats and any kind of food they could round up, then fled with it all.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)