Guinea has managed to go 42 days consecutively without any new Ebola infections. And that comes after neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia, the other two West African countries that were hardest hit by Ebola, have been through the same cycle of zero Ebola cases.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Categorized in : Country Zero Ebola

There's no doubt that Boko Haram has been driven from many of its strongholds in northeastern Nigeria. Now, President Muhammadu Buhari says technically, we have won the war. Those in the know say but technically, the army is still losing the battle because Boko Haram has changed tactics. Instead of now holding territory as it used to and calling this territory its own, now it is resorting to guerrilla tactics, hit-and-run raids and especially suicide bombings.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

suicide running war

There was something that was killing the people in the interior, in the forest area, of the country, and nobody quite knew what it was. That lasted a good three months before it was officially declared that it was Ebola virus. So it started off in Guinea and spread quite slowly, but then spread over the border into Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

ebola country people

Ebola has killed almost 12,000 people and at least 500 health workers. So it affected the entire population. And as you know, the World Health Organization was accused of not having declared an epidemic soon enough. And that's when we saw Ebola rampaging through Sierra Leone, Liberia and, to a lesser extent, Guinea.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

soon-enough epidemics ebola

Is Guinea prepared? And that's the question because of course these three countries had very, very weak health institutions. Many people had said that there was denial in Guinea, that many people in Guinea either said that Ebola did not exist or were hostile to any sort of Ebola health and safety awareness - how to deal with it.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

ebola country people

Sierra Leone and Liberia must remain vigilant, that if you think somebody is sick with Ebola, you must get help immediately. Otherwise there could be a resurgence of Ebola. So everybody must remain vigilant.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

ebola sick thinking

And we are understanding - we're beginning to understand that the Nigerian military is now better on. And also, probably even more importantly, Michel, morale is higher amongst the military. I mean, you had Nigerian soldiers being accused of cowardice, running away from Boko Haram and not having the will to fight.

Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

military running mean