Sierra Leone News

Heads of agencies of the United Nations in Sierra Leone visited Kenema and Kailahun Districts on 30 June and 1 July respectively. The team was led by the UN Resident Coordinator, David McLachlan-Karr. The objective of the visit was to identify gaps in the Ebola response and assess resource needs. Outcome of the visit will guide the UN agencies in their resource mobilisation for a coordinated UN intervention in supporting the government and partners to curb outbreak of the Ebola Hemorrhagic Disease in Sierra Leone.

For many people, December 22 was the beginning of the holiday season. But for Rebeca Johnson, a Sierra Leone nurse who survived Ebola, it marked a return to work - and a new lease on life.
"I will take the work normally as I did before. I will wear the full PPE, but I won’t ever be scared again because I have immunity."
Ebola survivor tells her story

Kailahun district in eastern Sierra Leone was one of the country’s first hotspots in the Ebola outbreak, at its peak reporting more than 80 new cases per week in late June 2014. With the assistance of WHO and partners, combined with the close involvement of community leaders, the district has managed to beat the disease and has reported no new cases for several weeks. There is no room for complacency however. Community teams and health workers are on high alert and are ready to react quickly to any possible new infection.

Two successive emergency response campaigns in Sierra Leone to distribute anti-malarial drugs to people living in areas affected by the Ebola virus disease outbreak have successfully reached more than 2.5 million people, and significantly reduced the number of people with fever that might be mistaken for Ebola virus disease (EVD).

WHO’s social mobilization team is using radio to reach communities with information about how to prevent the spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone.
Reaching communities not just physically, but psychologically and emotionally as well.
“My work as a social mobilizer is to pass on key messages to convince people to stop the cultural and traditional practices that are fuelling the spread of Ebola,” says Zainab Akiwumi, who leads the WHO social mobilization team in Sierra Leone.

Three Liberian ambulances, with 20 Liberian staff joining their Sierra Leonean colleagues in the fight to end Ebola
After a two-day journey bumping along more than 500 kms over rough roads and dirt tracks, 3 ambulances and a team of 20 Liberian health experts have arrived at last in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.
The team aims to train up its Sierra Leonean counterparts and establish the base of a First Responder Team. They plan to stay at least 6 months and the ambulances will remain in Sierra Leone.

Freetown 23 July 2014 - The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Dr Luis Sambo continued his visit to the three West African Countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. On the second leg of his visit the Regional Director arrived in Sierra Leone on Tuesday 22 July 2014 to get more insight, review current outbreak response and challenges, and explore the best ways to rapidly contain the EVD outbreak in West Africa. 

One of the great challenges in this Ebola outbreak is finding ways to safely provide essential health services like child immunization while still fighting the Ebola outbreak. This is the story of what the community health care team in Kamasondo village are doing to reach all the babies born in the district during the Ebola outbreak and vaccinate them against common childhood killers.

The "Rescue Team", an association set up by Ebola survivors to help fellow survivors trying to put their lives back together again, is now exploring ways to contribute to the Ebola outbreak response in Sierra Leone.
"How can I make a life when I have no hope? My future is blind," says Sherrie Bangura as he contemplated life after recovering from Ebola virus disease.

Sierra Leone conducts immunization and birth registration campaigns for children under five

In Sierra Leone, the Ebola outbreak has affected all aspects of health care. Exact numbers are yet to be confirmed but it is clear that many children have missed out on routine vaccination services and birth registration during the outbreak. To counter this, mass immunization campaigns are being held to enable children to ‘catch-up’. In June this year, an integrated measles and polio campaign was conducted reaching 97% of children under the age of 5.