Hunger crashes Ebola fences

Thousands of people in Sierra Leone are being forced to break Ebola quarantines to find food because deliveries are not reaching them, Associated Press reported.

Large areas of the west African country have been sealed off to check the spread of the deadly virus, with people in some areas being ordered to stay indoors.

People in the quarantine areas depend on the government, assisted by the UN's World Food Programme to deliver food and provide other services.

But the AP quoted Jeanne Kamara of Christian Aid in Sierra Leone as saying that many ''nooks and crannies'' in the country were being missed and people were being forced to violate quarantines to obtain food.

The UN's food-aid agency has chartered a ship to transport supplies to west African countries hit by Ebola as trade disruptions linked to the outbreak stoke food prices in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The two-month vessel charter has helped the World Food Programme, which is providing meals for Ebola victims and quarantined communities, skirt issues getting food to stricken countries for now, spokesman Alexis Masciarelli said.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea reported 13567 cases of Ebola and 4951 deaths as of October 29, World Health Organisation data shows. Rice and cassava flour prices have risen in urban areas as transportation and food markets have been in disarray, according to the UN.

"Ebola is indeed disrupting food trade and markets," Masciarelli said in Dakar, Senegal. "In Monrovia, the price of cassava flour has doubled since the border closure with Sierra Leone about two months ago."

The Falkenberg loaded 7000 tons of rice in Cotonou, Benin, two weeks ago, Masciarelli said. Two-thirds of the cargo was discharged in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and the remainder was unloaded in Liberia's capital of Monrovia yesterday, he said.

As part of measures to protect the crew from Ebola, the Falkenberg is allowing only two port officials on board, in full protective gear and after disinfection with chlorine, Masciarelli said.

Crews sailing to Liberia are afraid of Ebola, and the number of arriving vessels is falling, according to Jean Senahoun, a UN economist. Liberia depends on imports for about 60% of its grain requirements in a normal year.

The price of imported rice in Monrovia has risen more than the normal seasonal pattern, according to Masciarelli.

The World Food Programme has seen local increases in rice and cassava flour of 10% to 20%, he said.

"Urban areas are hit more than rural areas," Masciarelli said. "In rural areas your field is next door. If you live in a slum you're totally dependent on the market. In Sierra Leone, the local weekly markets have been banned by the government."

The Ebola outbreak has hurt local economies, meaning a loss of employment, income and purchasing power, according to Senahoun. The slowdown of economic activity means families will be dipping into savings to deal with higher food prices, Masciarelli said.

The disease may cost West Africa $25.5-billion (about R281-billion) in a worst- case scenario that assumes Ebola spreads to countries neighboring Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, the World Bank said.

The World Food Programme has distributed food to 1.1 million people in the countries affected by Ebola, and that is expected to rise to 1.3 million by February. Given the intensity and spread of the virus, that number may be revised, Masciarelli said.