The Catholic charity Cafod has launched an appeal to raise funds to bolster its Ebola prevention work in the fight to contain the Ebola virus in West Africa.
The outbreak is rapidly spreading and has killed nearly 4,000 people across Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The charity warned that unless the virus is brought under control it threatens to infect thousands more people in the coming weeks, and spread more widely across the region.
To halt the spread of the virus Cafod partners are training priests, parish volunteers, imams, spiritualists and traditional healers to spread the word about hand-washing, good hygiene and safe burial practices, as well as distributing hygiene kits.
Cafod has released £200,000 to its Caritas partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but needs more money to scale up supplies of hygiene materials and protective equipment, to support safe burial practice, and boost mass public awareness programmes.
Director Chris Bain said: “"The Ebola virus has reached a tipping point, with a very narrow window of opportunity to reduce the number of infections.”
"Robust action now means that we can save lives and play our part in halting the spread of this virus.”
Mgr Robert Vitillo, who is heading the response to the crisis by Caritas Internationalis, the consortium of which Cafod is a member, said: “Some people die in the streets looking for medical treatment for the Ebola infection."
Mgr Vitillo, who recently returned from Liberia, said that many hospitals and clinics are closed because the outbreak had brought Liberia’s healthcare infrastructure “to its knees”.
He added: "There is still much fear and denial among people, and public awareness raising is our first line of defence."
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