THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD

Published purpose

October 2014 - On August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa an international health emergency. The Ebola outbreak started in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. There have been over 10,000 cases of Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to date, including close to 5,000 deaths. The current outbreak is unprecedented in terms of its scale, geographic reach, humanitarian impact, as well as its social and economic repercussions. The number of cases and deaths surpass all previous Ebola epidemics combined. With DFATD’s support, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) is helping meet the urgent food and nutrition needs of vulnerable people and communities during the crisis. Project activities include: (1) responding to the immediate food needs of people affected by the virus who are receiving medical attention, as well as of people who had contact with the virus and are kept in quarantine; (2) ensuring the food needs of other populations living in the most affected zones where containment measures are impacting peoples livelihoods and markets; and (3) preventing the deterioration of acute malnutrition among young children and women of reproductive age as a result of the crisis.