Travelling the last mile to zero Ebola cases in Liberia
In early December, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf urged the people of Liberia to travel the last mile to reduce Ebola cases to zero. That last mile will be very long and difficult, and can only be achieved when every county has the capacity to find and isolate all cases, trace all contacts and bury all who die from Ebola safely. Here is the story of 2 remote villages travelling that last mile.
The number of new Ebola cases in Liberia has been falling in recent weeks. Now, hard-to-reach villages are at the frontline in the fight to drive cases to zero.
WHO Field Coordinator, Gebre Negash, and colleagues from CDC had set out early that morning, before dawn, driving for hours on roads and dirt tracks until they reached the end of the road from where they walked the final 2 hours to reach Bomota village in Bong County. There are no roads in this remote part of Liberia, only a small track that winds uphill and downhill through the tropical rainforest, crosses rivers and creeks, over and under fallen trees and through thick mud.
Village Chief Workpeh Donkpoie greets the team that has come to follow up contacts after an outbreak in the village several weeks ago. "I feel good that you people have come here to see us," says Chief Donkpoie. "It is very important for me. You educate us and we listen."