Health ministry schools media on Ebola
The ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) on Saturday 23rd May schooled media practitioners on the state of Ebola in the sub- region.
The director of information, MOHS Mr. Cedi Yaya Tunis stated that since the outbreak of the Ebola in Guinea in March, the ministry and their partners were busy putting strategies to avert the disease from entering Sierra Leone. He furthered that Ebola is a very dangerous virus without cure but can be prevented.
He said the schooling of the media will not only focus on Ebola but other communicable diseases which they want the media to disseminate in their various communities.
Representing the Independent Media Commission (IMC) Chairman Rod Mack Johnson said reporting on health issues is crucial and fundamental. One role of the media he said is to break scientific or medical jargons into consumable language for our readership to understand content.
He said the non reported case of Ebola in sierra Leone does not mean we should forget that there is Ebola outbreak in the neighboring sister countries of Guinea and Liberia and the role of the press is to be reminding the public on the preventive methods until the danger signs from Guinea and Liberia changes.
He cautioned journalists on negative reporting especially for international readerships which once released cannot be easily retracted.
The chairman of the program and Public Relations Officer (PRO) MOHS Mr. Jonathan Abass Kamara said that we need to commend health actors especially Unicef, WHO, the ministry and entire people of sierra Leone for the robust preventive measures employed which suppressed Ebola from entering the country.
The health communication officer, Mr. Harold Thomas said International Health Regulations (IHR) has thirty eight world dangerous diseases which they as a ministry are monitoring every week. Ebola, Lassa and yellow fevers are few among the viral hemorrhagic fever diseases which they are monitoring closely.
He said Ebola is a dangerous virus which kills every nine out of every ten infected persons. Mr. Thomas said Ebola as at present, killed 171 in Guinea and 11 in Liberia and all reported cases in Sierra Leone has proved negative, which the international health actors say is a mystery.
Mr. Thomas categorized the preventions thus: people should avoid sharing sharps like needle and blades, avoid the eating of bats, fruits partly eaten by birds or animals, avoid the eating of all bush meats, avoid body fluids of others like siliva, sweat, urine, mucous, sperm or blood.
Avoid hand shake, wash hands with soap and water after torching the sick and avoid touching the dead bodies. He urged all to continue following these practices as Ebola is still in the neighboring countries and is always good to be on the alert. Madam Aminata Kobie representing world health organization (WHO) said the media is key in building trust and that there are still challenges in the fight against Ebola, like the education of eating bush meat and that Ebola is highly fatal and therefore we should join hands to fight the disease. UNICEF the donor organization also came out with their maternal child health week plan slated for 5th – 11th June this year.
By Tamba M. Musa
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