WAHA responded to Ebola outbreak in western Africa in January: Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan

Abu Dhabi (WAM): H.H. Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Chairwoman of the Women and Health Alliance International, (WAHA), on Wednesday said that the non-profit and non-governmental organisation responded as early as January to international pleas for assistance for the fight against Ebola disease in western Africa in cooperation with the French Red Cross in Guinea. In Guinea, WAHA provided trained health workers, conducted training sessions, supported the local community through spreading awareness about the disease, organised transportation arrangements for the patients, and set up centres for reporting cases and referring them to health centres in addition to putting in place a monitor-and-control system to track reported cases, explained Sheikha Shamsa. "This is the worst and most destructive outbreak of the disease in western Africa to date. The local health systems are struggling to tackle the disease. There is an urgent need for international assistance to help these communities in their battle against the deadly disease," Sheikha Shamsa said. By the end of September, a total of 6,574 Ebola cases were reported from five West African countries and 3,091 people died in the ongoing outbreak in the region. – Emirates News Agency, WAM - http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395270931514.html