SLCCAS expresses concern over Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone
“It is difficult for people in Sierra Leone not to lose hope as the death toll rises and worldwide fears over the worst Ebola outbreak on record,” said the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Sierra Leone-Canadian Children’s Aid Society (SLCCAS) in Sierra Leone and Canada, Sean Samura. (Photo: SLCCAS volunteers & staff displaying T-shirts & plank cards carrying the Ebola campaign messages)
In a telephone interview with this medium on Wednesday 30th July, 2014, Sean Samura said the mood of the West African country is bleak following the death of the doctor who had been leading the country’s fight against the highly contagious disease noting, “the death of Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, who worked at the Kenema Government Hospital in Eastern Sierra Leone, has left us feeling defenseless.”
Mr. Sean Samura continued that the hospital center where Dr. Sheik Umar Khan was being treated is the only place in the country equipped to deal with Ebola and recalled Thursday 31st July, 2014 when President Ernest Bai Koroma declared a state of health emergency and called in troops to quarantine Ebola patients and communities as the death toll from the outbreak hits over 729 in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The symptoms of the disease, which has no known cure, include vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding. He said that the fatality rate of the current outbreak is around 90%.
He pointed out that the fear among local people is that if they go to the hospital, “they won’t come out again which is largely fueled by the fact that the corpses of people who die of Ebola in hospitals are put into bags and buried and that their loved ones don’t see them again.”
The Chief Executive Officer and President of SLCCAS went on to disclose that there is no burial ceremony as culture, traditions, including the washing of corpses by family members before they are buried, are problematic in fighting the spread of Ebola, because the disease is most contagious in its advanced stages.
He further stated that SLCCAS staffers and volunteers are training community groups, elders and traditional leaders to enable them spread information on how to avoid contacting the virus and what to do if they feel sick.
Sean Samura reiterated that SLCCAS is part of the EBOLA network in Sierra Leone and has been working closely with local community groups on awareness-raising campaigns, using radio and other mediums to disseminate critical messages about prevention, transmission and treatment of the disease and revealed that presently funds are being raised in Canada, United States and Europe to support the campaign against the disease in Sierra Leone.
SLCCAS Public Relations Officer, Sylvanus B.C. Hughes said, “we give people chlorine to wash their hands as well as information leaflets underscoring that it’s a case of simple hygiene.
He asserted that an interreligious forum issued a statement to dispel myths “spread by religious fanatics saying Ebola is a plague and calling on people to come to prayer centers they’ve setup instead of healthcare facilities.”
Sylvanus B.C. Hughes continued that Children’s Aid Society-Sierra Leone also had to clarify the nature of Ebola to people who believe that the hospital deaths are as a result of a political plot by anti-Government forces and that the Government, religious leaders and civil society organizations now recognize that Ebola is a ‘national catastrophe’ and are working together to stop its spread.
He revealed that the Sierra Leone-Canadian Children’s Aid Society staff and volunteers are working on the campaign and active sensitization together with local community groups to strengthen the areas of regular and good hand washing, the use of disinfectants and avoiding physical contact, especially with sick people, all of which will make a big difference to combat the disease.
By Mrs. Hannah Williams- Executive Secretary CAS-SL
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