Guéckédou

Guéckédou
Sub-prefecture and town

Guéckédou hospital
Guéckédou

Location in Guinea

Coordinates: 8°34′N 10°08′W / 8.567°N 10.133°W / 8.567; -10.133
Country  Guinea
Region Nzérékoré Region
Prefecture Guéckédou Prefecture
Population (2008)
 • Total 221,715

Guéckédou or Guékédou is a town in southern Guinea near the Sierra Leone and Liberian borders. It had a population of 79,140 in 1996 (census) but has grown massively since the civil wars and, as of 2008, it is estimated to be 221,715.[1] It was a centre of fighting during the Second Liberian Civil War and the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2000 and 2001.

A school in Guéckédou

The city is renowned for its large weekly market, which attracts traders from across Southern Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire.

On February 12, 2007, the town's police station was ransacked amidst the resumption of protests and strikes against President Lansana Conté

As of June 11, 2014, volunteers organized by Guéckédou's Red Cross have been working in sanitation, disinfection, and monitoring efforts to help contain the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Some reported they were "encountering resistance in some villages such as Bafassa, Wassaya and Tolebengo in Guéckédou Prefecture, where rumours help fuel the flames of fear ... A main focus of the interventions involves deploying volunteers to communities to raise awareness on how to prevent the spread of the disease and, in the process, address the fear and stigma gripping many communities."[2] The World Health Organization estimated cumulative totals of 227 cases and 173 deaths occurred in Guéckédou as of June 22, 2014.[3] 11 patients were in Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Treatment Centres in Guéckédou as of that date, and 527 contacts were being followed up on as part of a mandatory 21-day observation period.[3]

References

  1. ↑ World Gazetteer, Retrieved on June 16, 2008
  2. ↑ International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (2014-06-11). ""I was so scared to die." Living with the fear of Ebola in West Africa - Guinea". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  3. 1 2 "Ebola virus disease, West Africa – update". Disease Outbreak News (Press release). World Health Organization. 22 June 2014.
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Coordinates: 8°34′N 10°08′W / 8.567°N 10.133°W / 8.567; -10.133

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