Ebola has orphaned thousands of children in West Africa , and relatives are terrified of taking them in for fear of infection , the United Nations said . About 3,700 children in Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone have lost one or both parents to the disease , according to U.N. child agency , UNICEF . In addition to mourning the loss of caregivers in the three hardest-hit nations , the children feel abandoned and stigmatized . `` Orphans are usually taken in by a member of the extended family , but in some communities , the fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family ties , '' said Manuel Fontaine , UNICEF 's regional director . With Ebola infections skyrocketing in recent weeks , the agency fears the number of orphans could double this month . In the next few months , about 2,500 survivors will get lessons on providing care to children quarantined in treatment centers . Ebola survivors are considered immune to the disease . `` UNICEF is looking at traditional and new ways to help provide children with the physical and emotional healing they need , '' the agency said in a statement this week . More mental health workers . In Liberia , the children 's aid agency said it is training additional mental health workers to ensure children affected by the deadly virus get the support they need . In neighboring Guinea , plans are under way to provide psychological support to 60,000 children and families affected by Ebola . Comforting a child is a 'potential death sentence ' `` Ebola is turning a basic human reaction like comforting a sick child into a potential death sentence , '' Fontaine said . `` The vast majority of the children affected by Ebola are still left without appropriate care . We can not respond to a crisis of this nature and this scale in the usual ways . We need more courage , more creativity , and far , far more resources . '' The U.N. children 's agency said it has received only 25 % of the $ 200 million it needs for emergency assistance for families affected by Ebola in the region . Affected nations are reporting grim numbers as the deadly virus takes its toll . 'Untold numbers of children are dying ' In Sierra Leone , about 765 new cases were reported last week , which is a rate of five every hour , according to Save the Children . The aid group said there are only 327 beds available for Ebola patients in the country . `` Untold numbers of children are dying anonymously at home or in the streets , '' Save the Children said . Ebola has killed more than 3,000 people in Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone , and the United Nations says those numbers are vastly under-reported . Meanwhile , Sierra Leone 's President Ernest Koroma is missing an Ebola donor conference in London because his British-chartered plane had technical problems , the British Foreign Office said Thursday , an hour before he was due to give a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond . `` We are currently exploring alternative ways for the President to participate in the conference , '' the Foreign Office told CNN . Complete coverage on Ebola .
Ebola has orphaned about 3,700 children in Guinea , Liberia and Sierra Leone . `` The fear surrounding Ebola is becoming stronger than family ties , '' a U.N. official says . As Ebola infections skyrocket , experts fear the number of orphans could double this month .