Grief among the more than 16,000 children orphaned by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa runs deep, but most of them have been taken in by families thanks to the bonds of kinship that has proven stronger than stigma and fear associated with the disease, the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) said today.<\/p>\n
Andrew Brooks, speaking to reporters in Geneva on behalf of UNICEF by phone from Dakar, Senegal, said some families had taken in three to seven children, and only around 500 of the 16,600 children had had to be placed in mass care centres.<\/p>\n
Of the latter, Mr. Brooks said 80 percent of the children had been reunified with their extended families.<\/p>\n
\u201cResilience of families, communities, relatives to take in the children had been impressive,\u201d said Mr. Brooks. \u201cCredit should be given to communities, as they had truly rallied to help out, and to Governments for taking a strong stand on supporting family not institutional care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were fears that stigma around Ebola would isolate the orphaned children, which would mean there would be thousands of abandoned children, but that has, luckily, not materialized,\u201d he continued, adding: \u201cThe stigma and the fear has not completely disappeared, but the bonds of kinship and traditional relations has proven to be stronger, which was why families had taken kids in.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said UNICEF was providing cash support, material assistance, psycho-social support, and referring families for food assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reopening of schools in Guinea \u2013 and planned re-openings in Liberia and Sierra Leone \u2013 has been particularly important, as it will help children adjust and return to some normalcy and routine,\u201d according to Mr. Brooks.<\/p>\n
In other Ebola-related developments, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 22,525 people had now been affected by the disease, with deaths reaching 9,004.<\/p>\n