'We believe in life after Ebola', say survivors of the epidemic

Yusuf Kabba survived Ebola after being diagnosed in 2014 Credit: Simon Davis/DFID

Survivors of an Ebola epidemic which has killed as many as 4,000 people in Sierra Leone in the last year have said they "believe in life after Ebola" now that their country has been declared free of the virus.

As people took to the country's capital Freetown on Saturday to celebrate the end of the Ebola outbreak, many of those who were personally affected by the virus spoke out about their hopes for the future.

Yusuf Kabba, 27, was diagnosed with the virus in October 2014 and went on to become the National President of the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors after he was released from hospital in November of the same year.

He said:

John Sesay lost six members of his family during Sierra Leone's Ebola epidemic Credit: Simon Davis/DFID

John Sesay, 30, survived but lost his mother, father, two sisters, uncle and auntie in the outbreak.

He said:

Sierra Leone was declared free of Ebola by the World Health Organisation, following 42 days with no new cases of the virus reported.

The country will now enter a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure the virus does not return.