An official of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare told newsmen in Monrovia on Tuesday, 16th June that 800 out of 1,538 survivors surveyed complain of constant and terrible body pain. Reverend Meekie Glayweon, National Coordinator of Survivors Network of the Ministry of Health, said partial results of an ongoing study by the ministry revealed that scores of EVD survivors are experiencing general body aches and weakness since being discharged from isolation in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) months ago.

Speaking at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing in Monrovia, she said some survivors have had their legs amputated due to constant swollen and unabated pain, adding that most of the medical conditions survivors are going through are complex and beyond the ability of medical authorities in Liberia to remedy.

Quoting the study, she cited that a boy who survived the disease 6 months ago is still carrying sores which developed on his body while in an ETU in Monrovia despite having received constant medical treatment. She said another 7-year-old boy who also survived Ebola two kidneys were discovered damaged. She said the boy whose body is swollen up conditions cannot be handled by the country’s poor and ill equipped medical system.
She said other survivors are suffering from partial blindness, having hearing problems and other medical conditions doctors in the country are struggling to understand.

A certain male survivor experiences very painful erection, the Ministry of Health official said. The man has to use ice and water to cool off his genital whenever it erects, she added. Reverend Glayweon described the medical conditions of Ebola survivors in Liberia as terrible and beyond the comprehension of medical practitioners in the country. Still, she said some survivors are suffering from loss of memory and disfigurement.
Socioeconomic & Psychosocial Problems
Apart from these medical problems, EVD survivors are also faced with barrage of socioeconomic problems including discrimination.

Referencing the study, Rev. Meekie Glayweon told newsmen that 48 percent of adult survivors have lost their jobs and have no source of income. One in two adult survivors is unemployed. She quoted the survey as saying 17 percent of survivors face discrimination from community and family members. She said a 21-year-old boy who survived the virus is facing serious trauma as his only surviving sister has distanced herself from him for fear of catching the virus. Madam Glayweon said the boy is also being shunned by community members.

According to the survey, 24 percent of Ebola survivors continue to experience nightmares stemming from their terrible experiences from ETUs despite they were since released months ago and declared free of the virus.
The National Coordinator of Ebola Survivors Network said there is a serious need to provide support to members of the group in order to build their resilience as they strived to move their lives forward. Making a power point presentation, she said it is important to provide survivors with basic life skills and cash to rebuild their lives torn apart by the disease.

Responding to question from our reporter, Madam Glayweon said out of the 1,538 known survivors, about 1000 of Ebola survivors live in Montserrado County, 200 plus in Margibi and another 200 plus live in Lofa counties respectively.

She added that most survivors are being evicted or risk being evicted by their landlords, noting that is part of the various forms of discrimination and stigma survivors have got to face.

Dealing with Ebola Orphans

Although the country has been declared free of the deadly Ebola virus disease which killed over 8,000 persons according to official sources, and decimated the economy, Liberia will have to deal with the aftermaths of the epidemic for years to come. One of such problems is caring for children made orphans by the outbreak.
According to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, 4,436 children were either affected or infected with the virus. Of this figure, 3,196 children lost one or both parents to the EVD, the government has said.

Madam Meekie Glayweon told newsmen on Tuesday that only 1,597 children have received one-off support package. However, she said UNICEF is working with children affected by the EVD outbreak.

While efforts by international donors to deal with the social shocks created by the deadly Ebola outbreak is being welcomed, many Liberians think the government needs to dig deep into its pockets to shoulder the responsibility of caring for both survivors and orphans as international contributions will eventually dwindle at some point in the future. Writes Peter A. Fahn