A charity based in Garston is doing its bit to help fight the Ebola virus at a small hospital in the midst of rural Sierra Leone.

Masanga Leprosy Hospital is one of just three hospitals in Tonkolili district in the centre of the country, caring for 450,000 people.

The 100-bed hospital only reopened in 2006 after the long civil war and is operated by four non-governmental organisations in Europe, including the British Sierra Leonean Adventists Abroad charity.

Now the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA-UK), based at Stanborough Park, Garston, is raising funds to upgrade security, the water supply and electricity so that staff can resume clinical procedures that have recently been curtailed.

The Ebola virus wreaks havoc when it strikes and it is usually fatal - it has cost 2,500 lives this year alone.

Clinicians estimate it takes 27 people to adequately care for a single patient. Masanga, lacking pumped water, regular electricity, and a security fence around the wards, can not maintain the exacting levels of care in its current state.

ADRA-UK has now secured funding to restore the essential water supply, extend the solar power capacity and build a fence around the wards.

With the help of ADRA Canada and partner organisation Global Medics, essential Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) has also been shipped to the hospital this week.

And last week Masanga doctors, Bart Waalewijn and Jurre Van Kesteren, evacuated in August, met with ADRA-UK staff in Watford to discuss the project.

Both doctors are reluctant absentees from Masanga but know that they can only return when the hospital can restart clinical work in a safe and hygienic way.