Sierra Leone Ebola death toll ‘under-reported’, Canada accused of discrimination

Ebola’s toll on Sierra Leone is much greater than previously thought, with a senior coordinator for Doctor Without Borders (MSF) believing that the Ebola impact on the West African country is “under-reported.”

Speaking to the AFP news agency, Rony Zachariah, coordinator of operational research for MSF, lebelled the situation as “catastrophic. He also said that the virus has also killed off entire villages and communities.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) put the total number of dead at 4,951 out of 13,567 recorded cases, but Zachariah has stated that up to 20,000 people may have died.

The latest cases of Ebola in Spain and US have sparked fears of an even bigger outbreak, prompting Canada to suspend visa applications for residents of Ebola-hit nations.

Immigration Canada announced on Friday it would not process applications from individuals who had been in an Ebola affected nation within the previous three months.

However, Sierra Leone has since argued that the decision is “discriminatory.”

"The government views the decision as discriminatory, coming at a time when we are trying to ease the isolation, and not re enforce it," said Theo Nicol, Sierra Leone's deputy information minister on Saturday.

Canada's immigration minister Chris Alexander had described the move as a precautionary measure building on actions "taken to protect the health and safety of Canadians here at home".

"Canada's action is not taken with the interests of west African states in mind. As a member of the Commonwealth of nations, Sierra Leone particularly feels we should share common understanding and goodwill," Nicol told AFP news agency.

Canada is also blocking new or existing visa applications from foreign nationals intending to travel to an Ebola-affected nation.