CBC News wins International Emmy for Ebola coverage in Liberia

CBC's extensive news coverage of the Ebola crisis has won an International Emmy Award.

The award-winning team consisted of senior correspondent Adrienne Arsenault, producer Stephanie Jenzer, and videographer Jean-François Bisson.

• The National: Orphans of Ebola
• Ebola in Liberia: Adrienne Arsenault interviews the president
• How do you safely cover Ebola?

CBC News sent a team to Monrovia, Liberia, in October 2014, to capture stories in the African country worst hit by the disease. More than 11,280 people have been reported to have died worldwide from Ebola, according to data released by the World Health Organization this September.

The CBC's coverage highlighted the economic and political fallout, including an exclusive interview with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – and offered an intimate portrait of an eight-year-old girl orphaned by the outbreak.

Arsenault told CBC.ca it was an assignment that has stayed with them, given the suffering they saw and also because of the need to follow safety precautions and keep a physical distance from those they came in contact with.

"I think to this day we are so struck by what they went through - not just physically, but politically and emotionally," she said.

Arsenault said from the ceremony in New York that it was a bit surreal to be honoured for a story of such tragedy, but that the courage of the Liberian people was inspiring.

"They have been through more than we can fathom, and we owe them huge respect," she said.

Watch part of the award-winning coverage here:

In addition to the International Emmys, awards for American news and documentary coverage were awarded Monday night at the ceremony.

The other nominees in the international news category were:

• The Buck Stops Here: Srinagar floods coverage (New Delhi Television, India)
• The National Day of Mourning (NOS Broadcasting Organization, the Netherlands)
• Jornal Hoje and Jornal Nacional — The death of Eduardo Campos, (Globo, Brazil)