LaNUBlog™

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014, and has rapidly become the deadliest occurrence of the disease since its discovery in 1976. In fact, the current epidemic sweeping across the region has now killed more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined. Up to 8 October, 4,033 people had been reported as having died from the disease in five countries; Liberia,

Guinea appealed for calm in the Ebola-hit south of the country on Saturday after international aid workers, battling to contain an outbreak of the deadly virus, were attacked by a mob. Doctors without Borders, which goes by its French initials MSF, was forced to suspend treatment in Macenta in southeastern Guinea on Friday after crowds attacked one of its centres.

Once hailed as a potential model for African development, Guinea-Bissau is now one of the poorest countries in the world. It has a massive foreign debt and an economy that relies heavily on foreign aid. Compounding this, the country experienced a bitter civil war in the late 1990s in which thousands were killed, wounded or displaced. Formerly Portuguese Guinea, Guinea-Bissau won independence from Portugal in 1974 after a long struggle spearheaded by the left-wing African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). For the next six years post-independence leader Luis Cabral presided over a command economy. At a glance *.Politics: This former Portuguese colony has suffered a civil war and several coups, the latest in April 2012 *.Economy: Political instability and mismanagement have undermined the economy. Country is dependent on primary crops - mainly cashew nuts - and subsistence agriculture. Government often struggles to pay wages. *.International: Country has ...