Liberia, Sierra Leone fall far short of reaching WHO goals on Ebola
Of hardest-hit nations, only Guinea reaches UN agency goals on isolating sick and burying dead
Two months ago, the World Health Organisation launched an ambitious plan to stop the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa, aiming to isolate 70 per cent of the sick and to safely bury 70 per cent of the victims of the virus in the three hardest-hit countries - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - by December 1.
But only Guinea was thought to have met the December 1 goal, according to an update from the WHO.
In Liberia, only 23 per cent of cases are isolated and 26 per cent of the needed burial teams are in place. In Sierra Leone, about 40 per cent of cases are isolated while 27 per cent of burial teams are operational.
The failure to meet the WHO's goals marks another failure in attempts to slow the biggest-ever outbreak of the deadly disease. The Ebola outbreak was first reported in Guinea in March and spiralled out of control after being declared a public health emergency in August.
The WHO's Dr Bruce Aylward acknowledged in October that to reach the December 1 goal would be "really pushing the system hard". "If we don't do it in 60 days and we take 90 days: No 1, a lot more people will die that shouldn't; and No 2, we will need that much more capacity on the ground to be able to manage the caseload," said Aylward, who is directing WHO's Ebola response.
In recent weeks, there have been some successes in curbing Ebola; cases seem to be declining or stabilising in Liberia and Guinea. But the area around Sierra Leone's capital and a district in the country's north are seeing a severe surge in cases.