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Augustine Baker's role in tackling the Ebola virus has been widely admired

Ebola crisis: Sierra Leone's Augustine Baker dies

A Sierra Leonean who worked with children orphaned by Ebola has died of the disease himself.

Augustine Baker had been admitted to an Ebola treatment centre after becoming ill last week.

He had worked for an orphanage run by a UK charity on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown.

Thirty-three children and seven staff at the St George Foundation orphanage have been in quarantine since Mr Baker was diagnosed with the deadly virus.

Ebola has killed more than 9,500 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

But in recent weeks, the crisis has eased and the governments of the three countries have pledged to achieve zero Ebola infections within the next two months.

When Mr Baker was diagnosed with Ebola, orphanage co-founder Philip Dean said he had "worked tirelessly to help children orphaned by the disease".

"He knew that he was at risk but did the job because it needed to be done," Mr Dean added.

The orphanage was set up in 2004 and, until the Ebola outbreak, was mainly concerned with rescuing street children.

In the last year it has helped care for some 200 children orphaned by Ebola.



Credit: The BBC

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