Ebola: UNICEF Says 3,700 Children In West Africa Are Now Orphans

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says at least 3,700 children in West Africa have seen one or both parents die because of the Ebola epidemic. “Thousands of children are living through the deaths of their mother, father or family members from Ebola,” Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s Regional Director for West & Central Africa has revealed. “These children urgently need special attention and support; yet many of them feel unwanted and even abandoned,” he said, adding, “Orphans are usually taken in by a member of the extended family, but in some communities, the fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family ties.” UNICEF says the number of children orphaned by Ebola has spiked in recent weeks and is projected to double by mid-October. “Ebola is turning a basic human reaction like comforting a sick child into a potential death sentence,” Fontaine noted. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of patients with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone has surpassed 6,500 with more than 3,000 deaths.