Highlights:
The week from 31 August to 7 September 2015 saw the reporting of four new cases in Kambia - three of them recorded the same day (7 September 2015). All the cases were individuals who came into direct contact with the woman who died of the disease in the Sella-Kafta villages (Tonko Limba chiefdom, in Kambia district) and who was confirmed positive through a swab test.
As of 9 September 2015, there were 839 contacts under follow-up, including 36 high-risk contacts in Sella-Kafta. Eleven contacts, including five pregnant women and six children, are at the Observational Interim Care Centre (OICC). In response, UNICEF continued to support the people in quarantine households.
UNICEF, working through the Sierra Leone Water Company (SALWACO) and implementing NGO Community Action for the Welfare of the Children (CAWEC), provided an additional 46 blocks of latrines to 120 quarantined households with 500 persons in Sella-Kafta villages. All the 223 households in Sella-Kafta villages now have access to household latrines.
UNICEF delivered 88,000 litres of water to the 223 households in the Sella-Kafta villages, installed three water tanks with total storage capacity of 9,000 litres and distributed 246 rigid jerry cans of 20-litre capacity to the households to facilitate water storage.
UNICEF distributed hygiene kits to the 223 quarantined households in the Sella-Kafta villages. The hygiene kit included: soap, veronica buckets, toilet kettles, dental hygiene supplies, sanitary pads, biohazard bags to collect potentially contaminated wastes and chlorine solution for toilet cleaning.
UNICEF provided education technical and material support to children in the quarantined villages of Sella-Kafta. 270 school-age children were provided with basic learning materials to ensure continuity of learning during quarantine period. In addition, UNICEF distributed 75 solar radios to quarantined households with school-age children to enable them to access the Radio Education Programme. UNICEF also supported 21 school-age children in quarantine households that are expected to sit for the National Primary School Examination (NPSE), with lesson notes provided by neighbouring schoolteachers to help them prepare for the exams.