Children are back in school uniform following a fall in cases of the deadly Ebola virus, which has killed 9,000 people since December 2013. All educational institutions in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea closed in July 2014 to prevent the fever’s spread. Guinea’s school gates reopened on 19 January, and within three weeks a quarter of all children on the school roll had returned.
Liberia planned to welcome back students on 2 February, but the government delayed to allow more preparation time. This involved disinfecting schools used as treatment centres and ensuring every site was equipped with chlorinated water buckets for hand-washing and thermometers to monitor fever-like symptoms.
