Impact of the Ebola outbreak on health systems and population health in Sierra Leone

Foreword

“…The devastation caused by Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone is well recognized; what is less widely recognized is that in these countries more people probably died because of Ebola than from Ebola. The epidemic shut most health care systems and derailed programs to prevent and treat malaria, tuberculosis, vaccine-preventable diseases, and other conditions (1,2).…”

Influence of the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak on the vaccination of children in a rural district of Guinea

“…Several West African studies have reported that the Ebola outbreak was responsible for significant disruptions to the provision of health care [3][4][5][6] and an up to four-fold increase in avoidable all-cause mortality, mostly in children aged <5 years. 7 Substantial reductions in the administration of anti-malarials have also been reported. 3 Less information is available on the impact of the Ebola outbreak on preventive child health services, such as vaccination; the one published study assessing vaccine administration in relation to the Ebola outbreak identified a significant decline in vaccine uptake in the Forest Region of Guinea.…”

Increase in acute malnutrition in children following the 2014–2015 Ebola outbreak in rural Sierra Leone

“…2 The outbreak strained the country's already fragile health system, with consequences for health-care delivery reported across the health sector. 3 The national prevalence of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is respectively 4.0% and 9.3% using weight-for-height (WFH) ratio and 5.6% and 16.4% using weight-for-age (WFA) ratio, 4 and the childhood mortality rate is 156/1000 live births. 5 Before the emergence of EVD, addressing malnutrition was a national strategy and a health system priority.…”