NEWS NOTE

Schools in Liberia to reopen following return of more than 1 million

students in Guinea
DAKAR, Senegal, 13 February 2015 As children in Liberia prepare to return to their
classrooms on Monday 16 February, following seven months of Ebola-related school closures,
UNICEF and its partners are working to put in place safety measures to minimize the risk of
transmission of the virus.
The safety measures have been successfully used in Guinea, where more than 1.3 million children
have returned to school since January. The measures include children having their temperatures
taken when they arrive at their schools and washing their hands before they enter the classroom.
We dont expect all schools to reopen immediately, said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional
Director for West and Central Africa. Typically it can take up to a month before the majority of
students are back in the classroom. Throughout that period education authorities will be working to
ensure that conditions are as safe as possible.
Following Guineas experience last month, UNICEF has worked closely with the Liberian
government and local communities to develop the safety protocols. Teachers have been trained to
implement and monitor the safety measures, soap and other hygiene materials have been
distributed and mass mobilization campaigns on Ebola prevention have been conducted
nationwide.
In Guinea, where nearly all of the countrys more than 12,000 schools are now open, school
attendance is at 85 per cent of pre-Ebola attendance, according to data collected by the Ministry of
Education and UNICEF.
Liberia has learned important lessons from the successful experience in Guinea, and Sierra Leone
will build on the Liberia experience, said Fontaine. As more schools reopen we will continue to
improve the measures in place to keep children safe.
Due to the Ebola outbreak, schools in the three most affected countries did not reopen after the
end of the July-August holidays, depriving five million children of months of education. Guinea
reopened its schools on January 19, and Sierra Leone plans to do so at the end of March.

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Notes to the editors
How UNICEF and partners are helping:
Liberia
Ongoing distribution of more than 7,200 hygiene kits for over 4,000 schools.
Ongoing training of 15,000 teachers and school administrators in monitoring of
safety protocols.
Nearly 6,000 teachers trained in ongoing door-to-door Ebola prevention messaging
(Sep.-Dec. 2014)
Guinea

More than 47,500 hygiene kits containing buckets and soap distributed, benefitting
almost 2.8 million children.
Partners supplied 20,500 infrared thermometers
More than 80,500 teachers trained in monitoring of safety protocols, 19 per cent of
them with UNICEF funding.
Ongoing training of more than 300 people who in turn will train 30,000 primary
school teachers in psychosocial support.

Sierra Leone
More than 16,200 hygiene kits being distributed to schools
Ongoing training of 7,000 teachers on protocol and psychosocial support, EVD
prevention and social mobilization
Ongoing training of 36,000 teachers on implementation of the protocol for
operating safe schools
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our
partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical
action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the
benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit:
www.unicef.org
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For further information, please contact:
Laurent Duvillier, UNICEF West and Central Africa, lduvillier@unicef.org, + 221 77 740 35 77
Timothy LaRose, UNICEF Guinea, tlarose@unicef.org , +224 622 350 251
Rukshan Ratnam, UNICEF Liberia, rratnam@unicef.org , +231 886 760 365
John James, UNICEF Sierra Leone, jjames@unicef.org , +232 76 102 401