Ebola Survivors Dying Of Hunger Commit Suicide

They survived the fatal threat of the Ebola virus. But they seem to be succumbing to a greater threat: hunger. That is the plight of orphans who survived Ebola but lost their parents or guidance to disease inSierra Leone and are now starving to death amid harvest shortages and some are being forced into the sex industry, just so they can pay for food.

According to Mailonline, researchers from British charity, Street Child, warned that the situation will deteriorate if seeds are not distributed before the rains begin this month and planting becomes possible.

The charity, which has already received distressing reports of children dying due to lack of food in rural parts of the country, has estimated there to be 12,000 orphans, many of whom are now forced to look after themselves even in very tender ages.

The charity organisation has found that some children, rejected by their friends because of the stigma of Ebola, have been frustrated and dejected so much that they tried to commit suicide, while girls are being forced into the sex industry to earn money to buy food.

Research team leader John Pryor said: “Many rural communities which were under quarantine due to Ebola have lost their harvests and the people are truly suffering. As a result, they have nothing to plant prior to the rainy season, which is traditionally known as the hunger season.

“The most vulnerable, including many Ebola orphans, are dangerously hungry already, before it has even begun. Add to this is the risk of no harvest to look forward to and the potential consequences are awful,” the report said.

Without a harvest, the most vulnerable will starve. This was the case for Ibrahim, 13, and Aminata, 10, in Kigbal in the rural Port Loko district of Sierra Leone.

They lost both parents to the Ebola virus and were quarantined for two back-to-back periods of 21 days, while their uncle, Mohammed Lamin, lost his harvest during the quarantine and struggled to feed the pair.

Lamin said: “In the month and a half once the children were out of quarantine I tried to give them the little food I had to feed them but they refused. I know my brother and sister died from hunger and it scares me, I need food and clothing but my uncle has very little.”

He said: “They were too traumatised and the food I could afford was not good. I lost my farm during the quarantine and so I could not offer them much. I had to split the food between them and my own three children.

“Ibrahim and Aminata became thinner and thinner, when they cried for food I had to tell them to wait, to hold on just a little longer. In February, Ibrahim lost his life, Aminata died a week later; they were victims of hunger and trauma because of this Ebola virus.”

Ibrahim and Aminata were survived by two siblings, Jane, 8, and Fatamata, 3, who were living in another village with their elder sister when the pair died. Weeks later they returned to Kigbal having lost their elder sister to the Ebola virus.

They too now suffer the effects of malnutrition, eating only one meal a day, funded by their uncle’s wood chopping business.

Jane however said: “I know my brother and sister died from hunger and it makes me scared, I need food and clothing but my uncle has very little. We survive on a small amount of rice but it is not enough.”

In a joint statement, Street Child Chief Executives, Tom Dannatt and Kelfa Kargbo, said: “This is an incredibly worrying situation. It is very late but it is not yet too late.

“We urge large organisations on the ground in Sierra Leone to act now. Give, or lend, farmers seed. And we beg donor support to Street Child – big or small.

“We have a large rural distribution network capable of making a big difference – now. If we can put seed in the hand of farmers they can still get it into the ground in time to have a harvest to look forward to in October.

“These families can then have a chance of feeding themselves and even the hope of ‘extras’ such as affording school costs for their children. We are especially determined to see every orphan family that needs seed supported; that is the least we can do. But, to be honest, that is only the tip of this wider issue.”

In the past few weeks in Guinea and Sierra Leone, there have been 35 new reported Ebola cases, four times as many as the week before, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The 35 cases in the week to May 17 were in six districts of Guinea and Sierra Leone, with most in Guinea. Liberia was declared Ebola-free earlier this month.

According to available statistics, the total number of orphans who have lost at least their primary caregiver is estimated at 12,023, number of children that have lost both parents is put at 3,241, while the percentage of orphans living in a household of five or more orphans is 17 per cent.

The statistics by the charity stated that the average age of orphans is nine years old, while the number of children that have received support from Street Child is put at 10,944.