Freetown ‒ On November 5, 2021, an oil tanker explosion in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown resulted in at least 100 deaths and left hundreds of people seriously injured with burns. The government, through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), immediately called an emergency meeting of the National Public Health Emergency Management Committee (PHEMC), during which partners were informed about the incident and the initial steps taken to address the situation.
To enable a coordinated and efficient response, the PHEMC activated the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) and escalated the incident response to level two. This activation allowed for enhanced coordination, communication and resource mobilization, enabling an effective response to the public health event.
Despite these measures, it became evident that the scale of the situation exceeded the country’s existing capacity for trauma/burns management. The overwhelming nature of the crisis exposed the limitations in fully addressing the growing demands and complexities. Additional support and resources were required to bolster response efforts.
WHO conducted a Rapid Risk Assessment and an independent grading, quickly accessing financial resources through the Central Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to expedite initiation of emergency response interventions.
WHO provided six tons of critically needed case management commodities and supplies within 24 hours of notification and deployed a specialist emergency medical team (EMT) comprising an orthopedic/trauma surgeon, anesthesiologist, visceral surgeon, and several specialist nurses. In addition to supplementing the work of local experts, visiting specialists also provided training to help strengthen local staff capacity.
This transfer of knowledge empowered local staff to efficiently assist victims, in conjunction with the Emergency Medical Team. This played a pivotal role in substantially increasing the survival rates of severely injured people being treated in hospitals.
Implementing Incident management principles as outlined in the Emergency Response Framework, such as timely assessment and event grading, facilitated timely deployment of critical resources. Further swift response was facilitated by a roster approach to deployment of Emergency Medical Teams and other experts.