Sierra Leone, one of the countries with the most number of Ebola cases, has been declared Ebola free after a very turbulent era of the epidemic rampage.
Sierra Leoneans take to the street to celebrate the declaration
Following 42 days with no new cases, Sierra Leone was officially declared Ebola free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday, November 7, at a ceremony attended by President Ernest Bai Koroma and (WHO) representative Anders Nordstrom.
"We now have a unique opportunity to support Sierra Leone to build a strong and resilient public health system ready to detect and respond to the next outbreak of disease or any other public health threat," Nordstrom said at the ceremony.
It will be recalled that the nation was one of the worst-hit during the outbreak, with more than 14,000 reported cases of infection in the last 18 months.
Residents of Sierra Leone's capital held a candlelit vigil and celebrations to mark the end of an Ebola epidemic that has killed almost 4,000 people including more than 220 health workers since it began last year.
Thousands of people gathered overnight around the Cotton Tree, a massive tree in the centre of Freetown, for a candlelit vigil organised by women's groups to pay tribute to health workers who lost their lives.