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Film on how Ghanaian doctor stopped spread of Ebola screened

‘93 Days’ chronicles events in Nigeria after Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian diplomat, was diagnosed of Ebola shortly after he travelled into the country.

A film to honour Ghanaian doctor Stella Ameyo Adadevoh has been screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.

‘93 Days’ chronicles events in Nigeria after Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian diplomat, was diagnosed of Ebola shortly after he travelled into the country.

Despite pressure from the Liberian government for his release, Dr Adadevoh was firm in her decision not to allow Sawyer out of the First Consultants Medical Centre in Lagos.

After tests for other diseases proved inconclusive, Dr Adadevoh ordered tests for the Ebola virus which eventually came back positive. Her colleagues recall her going on the internet to print out any information about the virus she could find; which she later distributed to the staff and put in place strict quarantine controls to halt the spread of Ebola. She also insisted for the provision and use of protective clothing.

She and some others at the hospital were subsequently infected by the virus.

Played by veteran Nigerian actress, Bimbo Akintola, Adadevoh is portrayed as a professional and a mother who died in the line of duty.

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One of the film’s most emotional scenes is a phone conversation with her son to wish him a happy birthday while she was on her dying bed. Dr Adadevoh died shortly after that call with her son. Seven others died including Patrick Sawyer.

Dr Adadevoh was celebrated in Ghana as well with a memorial service, attended by President Mahama, held in her honour. Although she spent much of her life in Nigeria, she did not forget her roots in the Volta Region.

Ghana contributed immensely to the fight against Ebola by serving as the base for the coordination of all international efforts to quell the disease in the three most affected countries; Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

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