Across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, more than 14,000 people have contracted Ebola so far, and the virus has claimed the lives of more than 5,000.
As they tend to be the primary care-givers, women are at higher risk of contracting the virus.
With local healthcare systems in near total collapse, more women are being forced to give birth at home. Without access to emergency healthcare, knowledgeable midwives and clean, hygienic equipment, both mother and child are at increased risk of death before, during and after the birth.
Yet, the World Health Organization reports that it has just 22 percent of the hospital beds it needs to treat patients with Ebola.
This crisis demands a larger and more urgent response.
Stand with Save the Children UK as we work around the clock to help mothers and children in West Africa survive - by making available more emergency funding and personnel to respond to the Ebola outbreak.
I stand with Save the Children UK in the campaign to save western Africa’s mothers and children from Ebola.
As they tend to be the primary care-givers, women are at higher risk of contracting the virus. With local healthcare systems in near total collapse, more women are being forced to give birth at home. Without access to emergency healthcare, knowledgeable midwives and clean, hygienic equipment, both mother and child are at increased risk of death before, during and after the birth.
This crisis demands a more significant and urgent response, and I will do what I can to help Save the Children UK save lives – by scaling up their programmes to trace and treat Ebola patients, support local health systems and training health staff in affected communities.
