Medical certificate for recording cause of death, produced by the Office of Chief Registration for Births and Deaths for the Republic of Sierra Leone and used by health workers during the Ebola outbreak in 2014-2015

When a person dies, their cause of death is recorded. This form records name, age, nationality/tribe, usual residence, and would be signed and rubber stamped by a medical doctor, who also had to give their qualifications.

Forms like this are also used by the Statistical Office as part of the Government of Sierra Leone to understand the health conditions that impact their population. Thousands of these forms were filled in with Ebola as the official cause of death during West African epidemic of Ebola that began in 2014 was the most widespread outbreak of the virus disease in history—causing major loss of life and disruption to society and the economy, mainly in the countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. It became international news and prompted an international medical response. In June 2016 when Guinea was the last country to be declared free of Ebola, there were more than 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths. Since 2021, a vaccine has been available to protect high-risk populations and frontline workers.