University students doing their part for the fight against Ebola - With BEDS

HOBART, Australia - Nov. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- The West African nations of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are currently battling to contain the further spread of Ebola, which has already had over 14000 confirmed cases and over 5000 confirmed deaths. There is still a long way to go to contain the virus. The current health infrastructure in these countries is made worse by the absence and lack of resources to address poor health facility, medical items, staff and basic protective gears to prevent and control the Ebola disease. The World Heath Organisation has publicly express its its concern for the well-being of those infected by the deadly Ebola outbreak. Peter Graaf, WHO representative in Liberia has been quoted saying “One of our greatest challenges is that we urgently need hundreds of additional hospital beds for treatment of patients with Ebola. At present, Dozens of people are being turned away from treatment centres every day because they are full - or overfull”

This outbreak has reached a point that is far beyond the capacity of the government of the affected countries to contain the virus. This situation requires extraordinary efforts and called for urgent and increasing efforts for more support to complement the efforts of the government and non-state actors including international NGOs to help in containing this virus.

Three students - Lincoln Williams, Hamish Cowie and Alexander Stephens- all of the University of Tasmania in Australia have headed to this humanitarian call and have taken the initiative to render support and be part to help alleviate the dire situation.

Their venture, aptly titled 'Beds4Ebola', was born out of a desire to provide cheap, disposable and hygienic bedding for people with the disease to recover on, and to help prevent the spread of the disease between patients. The young male students- of science, business and law- first initiated the project in early September, and it has since snowballed. They have produced a prototype bed (impromptu bed, or IMP bed) that is low-cost, lightweight, compact and disposable, to act as a safe and practical tool to be used for reducing transmission of the disease.

They have sourced an official advisor for the project.

They are also working in collaboration with a Sierra Leonean focused charity organisation 'Stand4Salone' which is run by Mr Fayia Isaiah Lahai and Mr Ansumana Usman Koroma both from one of the Ebola affected countries, Sierra Leone.  Both are leading members of the Ebola awareness campaign in Australia – Mr Lahai is the Tasmanian state coordinator and Mr A U Koroma is national Coordinator. Their towering effort has helped to collect two shipping containers full of donated protective and medical items worth over Four hundred thousand dollars (AUS $400,000.00) to the Sierra Leone government.

This partnership has also built stronger networks, which has seen the involvement of another African nationals joining the group. This includes Denison Labor candidate Alphonse Mulumuba. Collaborating with other organizations and individuals has meant that a network to include manufacturing, transport, storage and distribution of the IMP beds has been established.

The next stage in their venture is to gain at least $30000 funding for the project, in order to begin producing and distributing beds as soon as possible. The Beds 4 Ebola team launched their campaign on the crowd-funding platform Indiegogo on Saturday the 15^th November 2014.  This launch gives the international public and private community the opportunity to purchase and sponsor IMP beds for afflicted individuals in West Africa.
Upon the shipment of beds arrival in West Africa, a relevant NGO or Beds 4 Ebola representative will receive the consignment, and hand the goods over to the appropriate organizations in Ebola epicenters.

There is huge potential in 'Beds 4 Ebola', as the campaign is set to provide potentially life-saving products to infected individuals in West Africa, who may otherwise not have access to adequate healthcare or treatment conditions.

To find out more about how you can sponsor a bed or support the efforts please head to www.beds4ebola.com