Classrooms in Nigeria will remain empty for another month. The Minister of Education ordered the delay in the start of the school year to allow staff to be trained on how to handle suspected cases of Ebola infection.

According to news reports, the virus has already claimed five lives in Nigeria.

In Liberia and Sierra Leone, schools are also closed as the ministries of education are preparing staff and teachers to join the campaign in raising community awareness about the virus.

Guinea and Senegal are two other countries where the virus has spread. The international community needs to come together to ensure that populations in affected countries can be protected from the virus and children can continue to go to school.