WHO declares Guinea Ebola free

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of Ebola in Guinea where more than 2,500 people have died from the virus over the past two years. On Tuesday, Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, in a statement commended the Guinean people and government for showing "extraordinary leadership in fighting the epidemic." "I commend the governments, communities and partners for their determination in confronting this epidemic," media outlets quoted Moeti as saying, adding, "As we work towards building resilient health care systems, we need to stay vigilant to ensure that we rapidly stop any new flares that may come up in 2016." The health organization also noted that the West African country would enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

Meanwhile, people in the capital, Conakry, have greeted the announcement with mixed emotions given the damage the virus did to the country's health, education sectors and economy. Fanta Oulen Camara, who works for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), told Reuters that several of his relatives were infected and lost their lives. "Several of my family are dead. This situation has shown us how much we must fight for those who are survivors," Camara said, adding, "After I got better, the hardest thing was to make people welcome me. Most people that normally supported me abandoned me.

Even the school where I was an instructor dropped me. It was very hard." Rene Migliani, an official at the national coordination center for the fight against Ebola, has said that the epidemic has orphaned nearly 6,200 children across the African nation. In December 2013, the world's worst outbreak of the disease began in Guinea before spreading to Liberia, Sierra Leone and seven other countries.