COVID-19 Consumes life of Sierra Leonean Ambassador in New Jersey

April 22, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

A representative of the International Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Foday Mansaray, is among the latest victims who died due to COVID-19 complications. Mansaray, of Franklin Township, Somerset County, was a representative of the International Human Rights Commission Relief Fund Trust and Deputy Foreign Minister and High Representative to the United Nations.

Few days ago, Phil Murphy announced that the State has registered 4,377 COVID-19-related deaths to date. Total State-wide cases have reached 88,806.

Foday Mansaray was among the latest victims who died due to COVID-19 complications, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday during his daily coronavirus press briefing.

“He was a strong advocate for his native Sierra Leone and especially for our State and our region’s Sierra Leonean and West African communities,” Murphy said. “He put his community before himself and was always thinking about how else he could help others.”

Murphy went on to describe Mansaray “as a kind and hard worker whose boundless energy and sense of humor spread to all who happened to be around him.”

According to the IHRC, Mansaray was first appointed by the Commission as Diplomatic Adviser in 2016. Since then, he has championed several initiatives, hosted and co-sponsored over sixty-five high level events at the United Nations, Geneva, Africa and Caribbean Islands.

Over the last quarter of a century, according to the IHRC, Mansaray had been involved in extensive community initiatives and human rights, and was an expert adviser on sustainable development projects in Africa and Caribbean. He was a strong advocate for his native Sierra Leone.

Tribute to Music Icon, Abou Whyte

April 22, 2020

Abou Whyte, a veteran Sierra Leonean musical icon, entertainer, and artist passed away at the age of 76

By Aroun Rashid Deen

Abou Whyte was an exceptional gentleman, a doyen to all in every organization or community of people to which he belonged. The remains of a Sierra Leonean music and entertainment maestro, Abou Whyte, who passed away on Sunday, April 12, in the United States, have been buried at the Oaklawn Memorial Park Cemetery in South Brunswick, NJ.

The veteran musical icon, entertainer, and artist hailed from Fourah Bay and Foula Tong in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He died in New Jersey, where he resided for decades, at the age of 76.

Thousands of mourners from around the world listened to the funeral event organized by Da’awatu Islamia, the Muslim Jamaat in the city of Somerset to which Whyte belonged, conducted online via Mixlr radio. Mourners also called to express their condolences.

Limited family members and friends attended the funeral on Tuesday, April 14, due to restrictions on public gatherings amid the COVID-19 crisis.

In his eulogy, Imam Alhaji Sheikh Ibrahim Conteh said the passing of Abou Whyte “was another stark reminder that death is inevitable for every human being.” Whyte’s unexpected death came as shocking news to many who knew him, including his fans and admirers around the world across all walks of life and all ages.

His production manager and business partner, New Jersey businessman Busairi Savage, described Abou Whyte as the most courageous, disciplined, and humbled person he had ever known. “He was also a very reliable person,” he said.

Abou Whyte is best known for his signature tune, “Good Morning Sierra Leone Good Afternoon Freetown.” Abou Whyte, aka Bra Abou, stepped into the limelight in the early 60s when he joined the popular Bolton Wanderers FC of Freetown as a goalkeeper, and later, a left-out striker, under British military-trainer-turned-coach Captain Dick Fairweather.

His short-lived football career ended when he switched over to music, first with Merry-Go Jazz, then Okes-Muyei, and then Muyei Power dance bands, performing the roles of songwriter, composer, singer, drummer, and percussionist. His signature tune, “Good Morning Sierra Leone, Good Afternoon Freetown,” still soothe hearts and elevates memories.

Abou Whyte was a man of many talents. He was a painter, sculptor, and the chief designer and builder of the then Vimto Lantern in Central Freetown, leading Vimto to win many awards at the Annual end-of-Ramadan Lantern Parade.

Abou Whyte was also a culture-minded man. He participated and promoted many cultural activities in and outside of Sierra Leone.

Alhaji Sallieu Wagon Kamara, Imam of New York’s Jamiatul Islamia Mosque, was a childhood friend of Whyte and remembered him as a man who lived a fulfilled life. “Abou would go all out to keep us, his friends, together. He would put everyone’s interest first.” Another childhood friend and cousin, Alhaji Ahmad Shamsu Deen-Cole of New Jersey, described Whyte as a critical thinker, master craftsman, and a courageous man with many talents.

His music colleagues nicknamed him Billy Whyte after Massachusetts country music star Billy Whyte, whose 1973 album, Cold Sunshine, was a hit.

I still recall my first face to face encounter with the late musician. Our meeting was characterized by his usual embrace and his cool, welcoming smile, a smile that defined his whole life.

Veteran broadcast journalist Cyril Jixon Smith of SLBS/SLBC, who also lived in the same Foula Tong vicinity as Abou Whyte, remembers him as always having “a cool, composed smile.” A composed smile that will be missed forever. Abou Whyte was an exceptional gentleman, a doyen to all in every organization or community of people to which he belonged.

If ever there is any such thing in the afterworld, one would imagine the kind of warm embrace at the gate of Heaven that would welcome Abou Whyte by so many who had proceeded him, including his daughter, Humu Whyte Savage, and younger brother, Abdul Fatta (Biggy Joe) Rahman.

Community organizer Alhaji Alieru Bakarr, also of New Jersey, described Whyte’s death as a blow to the Sierra Leonean community, particularly that of New Jersey. Whyte is survived by his wife, Salamatu Boi Whyte, six children, and a sister, Madina Rahman Taylor, and several family members and friends at home and abroad. May his soul rest in peace.

$200M Appeal Launched by Idris & Sabrina Elba

April 22, 2020

Amin Kef Sesay

Idris and Sabrina Dhowre Elba, who are recovering from mild cases of COVID-19, helped launch a new global coronavirus relief fund on behalf of the United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) designed to lessen economic shocks caused by the pandemic.

With $40M in seed money from IFAD, the multi-donor COVID-19 fund aims to raise an additional $200M from Governments, Foundations and the private sector to ease the impact of COVID-19 on rural small-scale farmers and producers.

The fund seeks to help them continue to grow their crops, keep their businesses open and maintain access to financial services and markets as their countries deal with lockdowns and movements are restricted.

Elba said that despite experiencing mild symptoms he and his wife had their world “turned around” after contracting the disease, calling the experience “definitely scary and unsettling and nervous.” The Elbas, designated as UN Goodwill Ambassadors for IFAD, visited IFAD-supported projects in rural Sierra Leone in December.

Actor Elba said, “The world’s advanced economies are in the midst of this pandemic right now and, of course, they must do everything they can to help their own people. Every death is one death too many at a time like this. But the fact is, global action is also a matter of self-interest. As long as the pandemic is still raging anywhere, it will pose a threat everywhere. IFAD needs more assistance to carry on the work that is desperately needed to keep food systems operating in rural areas if we are to come out of this crisis together and avoid needless hunger and suffering.”

Speaking about their trip, model Sabrina Dhowre Elba added, “This crisis has shown us we are only as safe as our most vulnerable people. It is in all our interests to keep local food systems going, protect rural communities and mitigate a health crisis as people who lose their jobs in the city head back to rural areas. The IFAD-run projects we saw in Sierra Leone give us hope that, with the right assistance, vulnerable rural people worldwide will be able to get through this difficult time.”

Scale Up Quarantine Measures & Discharge Criteria for Recovered Individuals with Covid-19

April 22, 2020

By Dr. Manal Ghazzawi

Before launching into the subject ahead, I would like to state clearly that I speak from the perspective of an industry professional and only state facts in this article with the aim of achieving one objective, which is the wellbeing of our people and our nation. I would like to commend all stakeholders for their preparedness and response in the fight against this mysterious virus. However, more need to be done, as even the best health care systems in the world are overwhelmed with the management of Covid-19 cases, and many lives have been lost.

We all know the steps the MOHS have taken to quarantine individuals, however if not implemented properly, it may also create additional sources of contamination and dissemination of Covid-19 in the future. I want to focus in particular on quarantine procedures that should be followed in cases of community transmission of the virus after contact tracing. I am particularly concerned about future quarantine measures of communities.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), and before implementing quarantine, countries should properly communicate and socialize such quarantine measures to the general public, in order to reduce panic and improve compliance:

Authorities must provide clear, up-to-date, transparent and consistent guidelines, and reliable information about quarantine measures. Also taking into consideration all types of living conditions including informal settlements.
Constructive engagement with communities is essential if quarantine measures are to be accepted.
Persons who are quarantined need to be provided with health care, financial, social and psychosocial support, basic needs and other essential requirements. The needs of vulnerable populations should be prioritized
Cultural, geographic and economic factors affect the effectiveness of quarantine. Rapid assessment of the local context should evaluate both the drivers of success and the potential barriers to quarantine and inform the design of the most appropriate and culturally accepted measures.

Social media have been awash with videos of several challenges faced by the first batch that was quarantined. Being in quarantine, though necessary, is in itself quite difficult, especially for the old, the sick, those living in informal settlements and otherwise vulnerable groups. The following recommendations help alleviate their situation and protect our nation:

Initially, proper communication with regards to rights of these individuals; provisions that will be made available to them; how long they will need to stay; what will happen if they get sick; contact information of their local embassy or consular support (for foreigners) must be done.
Education on physical distancing within quarantine facilities should be emphasized which is the main reason why quarantined individuals infect each other.
Dedicated logistics teams with the appropriate knowledge and skills must segregate and coordinate quarantined individuals and avoid over-crowding in vehicles used to transport them. If quarantined individuals are all packed in one vehicle there is high risk of transmission of the virus to uninfected individuals. That was the case among those quarantined when arriving from abroad.
Experienced health personnel with the right communication skills should visit quarantine centers at least twice daily to answer questions and render psychosocial support to quarantined people. Apparently the MOH is doing so but from what I understand, not much service is actually rendered.
Special considerations should be given to older individuals and individuals with co-morbid conditions who are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease. Elderly quarantined people need mobility support and there is a chance of them running out of essential drugs to manage their chronic disease.
An in-house trained nurse should be available to render support in case of an emergency to elderly with comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension.
TRAINED Mental Health nurses are to visit these facilities every day, but sadly enough we don’t have enough in the country. The few that we have are overwhelmed with psychiatric issues from our substance abuse epidemic and other traumas. Because of this shortfall health care workers or social workers should be trained to offer psychosocial support to make quarantined individuals feel much better mentally and emotionally.
Members of staff working in these hotels should have be trained on infection control and prevention (IPC) to ensure that the environments are being kept clean and they follow disinfecting procedures.

We are seeing infections with SARS Cov-2 among quarantined individuals because quarantine measures have not been properly put in place, best practice of IPC measures were not being implemented. It is worrisome that quarantine measures were only implemented later after many individuals had already arrived from Europe and other countries that are heavily affected. The 13^th Covid-19 case that was hospitalized on the 15^th of April, arrived on the 13^th of March before quarantine measures were implemented; hence doing contact tracing with all individuals case 13 have come in contact with after all this while becomes a big dilemma.

Community transmission will emerge very soon and most likely with exponential increase and we do not have the capacity to test them all. More the reason why we all need to take precautionary measures, these contacts being silent carriers of the virus are spread everywhere and not all of them can 100% be traced and tested. Covid-19 is an imported disease among the affluent or those that are financially stable to travel, hence those that can for example afford to visit expensive restaurants are mostly the silent carriers infected possibly by those who arrived before quarantine measures were implemented.

With this in mind, I would suggest that Government closes all restaurants and bars in the country and allows for take away food only as many individuals are still visiting restaurants at the beaches and others. This will unfortunately affect employment and the country’s economy which is not news to us as this is the inevitable happening globally to protect our nation.

Partial lockdown will create some impact, but it is not quite enough, sadly. Many Sierra Leoneans gather for transportation to get to their homes and physical distancing is not being adhered to. Lack of physical distancing gets worse when people are rushing to go home before the curfew. Market women gather in clusters to sell. This is just too overwhelming; I am afraid of what awaits us in this country. We are not to create panic, but from the way I see things, it is panic that will allow us to adhere to health regulations and comply to what Government advises us to do.

SARS-CoV-2 virus can initially be detected 1–2 days prior to symptom onset in upper respiratory tract samples; the virus can persist for 7–12 days in moderate cases and up to 2 weeks in severe cases (WHO mission to China Report). In faeces, viral RNA (genetic component of the virus) has been detected in up to 30% of patients from day 5 after onset and up to 4 to 5 weeks in moderate cases. The significance of faecal viral shedding for transmission still must be clarified.

The public have been asking how come there are no recovered patients yet among those infected with SARS Cov-2. Many discharge guidelines have been produced from re-known health institutions. For example, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention days patients meeting the following criteria can be discharged:

Afebrile (i.e. having no fever) for >3 days,
Improved respiratory symptoms i.e. no coughing or signs of pneumonia
Normal lung imaging with no signs of inflammation
Negative test for the virus in respiratory samples twice consecutively (sampling interval ≥ 24 hours).

After discharge, patients are recommended to continue 14 days of isolation management and health monitoring, wear a mask, live in a single room with good ventilation, reduce close contact with family members, eat separately, keep hands clean and avoid outdoor activities.

It is recommended that discharged patients should have follow-up visits after 2 and 4 weeks. The above are what clinicians treating Covid-19 patients do before discharging any infected individual and this might answer the question why there are no recovered patients released as yet.

On this note I suggest we show appreciation to all front-line workers in the fight against this disease, they are working very hard to bring this to an end. The Government needs to motivate them all, especially the nurses who are volunteers and at times spend sleepless nights in hospitals.

There is a bit of a catch here. Normally, when we are infected with a microbe the body mounts an immune response and develops memory cells that will fight against that infection when it comes back. In the case of an infection with SARS CoV-2, scientists have realized that some recovered individuals have developed high immunity against the virus and some have not. Up to 111 of recovered cases have been readmitted in South Korea after testing positive again for the virus. This might not be as a result of reinfection but due to lingering effects of the virus i.e. possibly reactivation where it was not cleared initially in the body or tests were not able to detect the virus for a period of time.

However, it is also known that after viral infections, the genetic material of the virus persists which can create a positive test even though patients might be asymptomatic. The next question here will be, do recovered patients have the tendency to spread infection? The answer is, there is a possibility of a recovered person not being infectious i.e. spread the infection despite testing positive, however researchers are not sure if there is a possibility of a rebound infection or re-infection. Conclusive evidence about sufficient immune response is yet to be verified to prevent resurgence of the pandemic.

WHO noted that more than 300,000 of the 2 million coronavirus cases across the world have recovered but scientists are yet to understand antibody response, and whether there is immunity to the infection and for how long. Until we have clarity on this aspect, we cannot lift restriction bans or life cannot go back to normal where physical distancing is not maintained. This is telling us that this virus remains a mystery to all of us hence we should continue to adhere to health regulations and seek proper health care if you notice you are sick. Scientists believe Covid-19 will continue to clatter across the world in waves, hitting the same countries multiple times.

This is also a call to action that we should persistently indulge in adoption of healthy lifestyle to continuously boost up our immune system and not wait till there is an outbreak of a disease. Among healthy lifestyle choices are; to eat healthy (make sure you eat fruits and vegetables every day); exercise at least 4 times per week; avoid or limit intake of alcohol and other practices that predisposes you to sexually transmitted disease or infectious diseases that will compromise your immune system.

We are all in this together, I strongly advice the elderly and especially those with diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, heart disease, mothers with asthmatic children to be very extra cautious. STAY HOME PLEASE, only go out when it is really necessary. Also do not self-administer chloroquine, there are no conclusive evidence of its use for prevention and treatment of Covid-19. I particularly advice diabetic patients not to consume it as it has shown to cause severe hypoglycemia (reduced blood sugar level), this could be fatal especially among those taking hypoglycemic drugs. Chloroquine is also known to be toxic to the eyes and heart.

With Support from the EU… Health Reporters Benefit from Three Days Training

April 22, 2020

By Foday Moriba Conteh

From the 10^th to the 12^th April 2020 a training programme was conducted, targeting Health Reporters and one Health Communication Officer on Emergency Risk Communication during crisis and disease outbreaks. The training took place in Kenema District and was sponsored by the European Union (EU) with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ) serving as implementing partner.

Dr. Amadou Traore, GIZ Technical Adviser for Regional Support to Pandemic Prevention Programs to ECOWAS, on behalf of GIZ, thanked participants for being part of the training.

He said the training is aimed at capacitating health reporters and one Health Communication Officer furthering how it was occurring against the backdrop of an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide that started in China in December last year, to sweep across all 5 continents in a space of few weeks, claiming thousands of deaths, shutting businesses down, causing precipitous economic decline and waves of social distress.

In such a context, he went on, Risk Communication is proven to play an important role in fostering community engagement and mobilization toward healthy behavioral and risk minimizing choices that will save lives.

He added that within the One Health Concept, journalists are better allies of Government in furthering Risk Communication activities; hence the support of GIZ to the training activity GIZ is doing in furtherance of its support to the Regional Pandemic Prevention Program (RPPP) in the ECOWAS region, with funding from BMZ and the European Union.

The RPPP program, he said ,focuses on 4 interventions areas:

Communication on health risks and gender sensitivity in the ECOWAS region, within the one-health framework.
Inter-institutional Communication and coordination among the ECOWAS Commission, specialized institutions, bodies and Member States in the fight against epidemics.
HR capacity building in terms of PHE Prevention detection and or response within the ECOWAS region.
Digital surveillance and outbreak management in Nigeria and Ghana.

According to Dr. Amadou Traore, in order to strengthen the knowledge and skills of ECOWAS One Health Sector professionals including journalists in these areas, two training programs pertaining to the main areas of the work of the RPPP were developed, namely emergency risk communication and inter-institutional communication and coordination.

As part of this strategy, a Training of Trainers (ToT) was organized by GFA Consulting Group on behalf of GIZ in collaboration with the Regional Institute of Public Health (IRSP). The aim of the ToT was to increase the pool of regional experts with the knowledge and skills needed to cascade these courses at ECOWAS member states level.

“This particular training will impart in you risk communication knowledge and skills as a result of which you will become better contributors to the Government of Sierra Leone’s efforts of responding to Public Health Events such as the current COVID19 Pandemic, the fight against which is a shared responsibility.”

Dr. Amadou also thanked the Sierra Leone Government, through the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and all the MDAs, of the One Health referential for the appointment of participants who progressively continue to replicate the trainings in Sierra Leone.

He expressed hope that participants will seize the rare opportunity to acquire/improve their knowledge and skills in Risk Communication to be able to timely and effectively contribute to the containment of epidemics in Sierra Leone and in the ECOWAS region as a whole.

Emmanuel A.B. Turay, Acting Director, Ministry of Information and Communications spoke about the objectives of the training and said they consider the media as a key tool in the dissemination of information.

He emphasized that, Sierra Leone is not just fighting a pandemic but “infodemic” and called on all to come together as media practitioners to fight fake news (Infomedic).

He also urged Health Journalists to take the training serious and for it to serve as a training of trainers as they represent other media houses.

Victoria V. Bernard, the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) Eastern Regional Chairperson, said they were grateful to the Government and donors for the training. She pointed out that specialized trainings like those are welcomed.

While appealing to Journalists to take the training serious, she said misinformation was what they experienced during the Ebola epidemic but commended the moves so far taken by the Government through the Ministry of Information and Communications.

President Bio on 14 Days Self-Isolation

April 22, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

It is now certain that President Julius Maada Bio has gone into a 14-day self-isolation after one of his bodyguards tested positive for Covid 19. In a brief address to the nation on 20^th April 2020, he said the bodyguard had been in quarantine and eventually tested positive for the disease further highlighting how no member of his family is showing any symptoms of the disease.

“The EOC is testing all contacts of one of my security staff who had been in a14-day quarantine and has tested positive for #COVIDー19. My Government will continue to be transparent and urges citizens to protect themselves by following all hygiene and other protocols,” the President posted on Twitter.

“I have directed the military to immediately deploy to our international airport and land crossing points in order to enhance security and support compliance with all public health directives advisories,” he further told the nation.

Now that he has gone into self-isolation, the President is working from home.

Although the bodyguard of President Julius Maada Bio has tested positive for coronavirus, however, the President says he is in good health. He reiterated that all his family members are in good health and none had shown coronavirus symptoms.

Sierra Leone has to date confirmed 61 coronavirus cases with six recoveries and no deaths. April 22 is the 8th consecutive day Sierra Leone recorded 11 new cases.

With regards latest statistics : Western Urban has 43 Cases, Western Rural 8 cases, Tonkolili 1 case, Port Loko 6 cases and Kenema 3 totalling 61 overall infected cases. In terms of sex it is recorded that there are 33 female affected cases and 28 male affected cases.

President Maada Bio becomes the second known African leader to self-isolate, the first being Botswana President, Eric Masisi, who self-isolated after attending an inauguration ceremony in Namibia at the time his country was uninfected while Namibia had recorded three cases.

A number of African Presidents have also confirmed taking the tests with all of them having tested negative. South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Ghana’s Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari have all tested negative.

Pikin Bizness Saves Two Lives

April 22, 2020

Alusine Leigh & Samuella George the two beneficiaries and their parent

By Amin Kef Sesay

One of the key humanitarian organizations operating in the country that has been doing extremely well in giving succour to those eligible for such, Pikin Bizness, continues to assist children with congenital heart diseases which it has been impressively doing since 2005 when the first child, 6-year-old Abubakarr Jalloh was flown to Paris.

ABK, as he is popularly called, at that time, had a few months to live. Today he is 20 years old and working as an intern in the I.T. Department of Transnational SL Ltd.

According to what was understood Pikin Bizness partnership remains solid with LA CHAINE DE L’ESPOIR (PARIS) as well as the CHAIN OF HOPE (UK) and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH-UK) and OLA DURING CHILDREN HOSPITAL.

The last arrivals of patients that received treatment came back in March 2020 just about when the Lungi International Airport was closing down after these patients spent one month overseas.

Alusine Leigh 9 years and 6 years Samuella George were flown out on February 14^th together with Mohamed Leigh (Alusine‘s dad) and Abibatu Esther Mansaray (Samuella’s Mum) to the Magdi YACOUB Medical Center in Aswan Egypt.

They are now back home enjoying new leases of life. Although there are other kids on stand-by to be flown out of the country, unfortunately due to the prevailing situation, that is difficult at the moment until the resumption of international flights when Pikin Bizness would then resume operations.

Even As Cases Rise, The Good News Is… Sierra Leone Knows How To Cure Corona

April 22, 2020

By Amin Kef sesay

Over the past weekend, medical staff at the 34 Military Hospital at Wilberforce succeeded in curing six patients diagnosed with the dreaded corona virus disease. The achievement is very significant in the light of the thousands of corona virus deaths that are reported in the UK, USA, and Brazil daily for the past two weeks.

Knowledge is wealth; experience gained practically is the most invaluable form of knowledge. The success of the medical team at the 34 Military hospital in successfully treating the corona viral disease has everything to do with the vast wealth of experience that was gained by the military as frontline medical fighters in the war against the 2014 to 2015 Ebola disease outbreak, working in partnership with USA’s Center for Disease Control, and the Chinese medical teams that were sent to Sierra Leone to help in the fight against the Ebola disease.

It is good that the President on seeing the danger posed by COVID-19 did not panic but like a seasoned battle commander decided to immediately put in place combat measures to take the fight to the enemy in the military believing that the best form of defense is offense.

Why the 2014–15 Ebola epidemic ravaged us so disastrously was a combination of unpreparedness, a weak health system and lack of knowledge about the disease and how to confront it medically and clinically.

In the aftermath, numerous analyses showed that many of the 28 000 cases and 11 000 deaths in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia could have been prevented with stronger preparedness at the national and international levels and a faster, more effective response.

A strong and supported health workforce is central to a robust health system. At the onset of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many frontline staff lacked appropriate training in emergency preparedness and response. Several health workers operated in unsafe environments with inappropriate equipment and without adequate pay, which affected their readiness, safety, motivation and the quality of care they could provide. Within this context, more than 800 health worker infections were reported.

Thus, first, and foremost, and we owe this to the former Government, what Sierra Leone with the help of our international health development partners has been doing since the end of the Ebola outbreak has been strengthening core capacities to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks, with commensurate domestic and, where needed, international investments.

Secondly, Ebola taught us that we must remain vigilant and forward-looking, implementing well-accepted control measures when an outbreak hits but also expanding these strategies to areas at high risk of infection.

When we found the courage and strength after months of fear to confront the Ebola virus disease, what we undertook most robustly was basic control strategy, and its refinement focused on rapid case identification for isolation, treatment and care, contact tracing, community engagement and mobilization, safe and dignified burials, effective infection control; and laboratory testing. Those strategies combined brought us to zero and helped us to maintain zero until the outbreak was declared over by WHO in October 2015.

SL Brewery Donates Towards COVID-19 Fight

April 22, 2020

By Amin Kef Sesay

The 17th April 2020 has gone down the annals of history of the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited (SLBL) as one when the company, in its usual posture, swiftly responded to the urgency of fighting the detestable coronavirus. SLBL, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility and their support towards the fight against the coronavirus in the country, on that day donated personal protective Equipment worth millions of Leones to the Government of Sierra Leone through the Covid-19 Response Team.

The impressive donation include 2,000 litres of alcohol sanitizers, 5 Milla Hand washing machines with accessories, 50 veronica buckets with accessories, 50 hand washing basins, 30 cartons of soap, 14 cartons of tissues and 12,000 cans of Maltina drinks.

Presentation of the items took place at the Forecourt of the Emergency Operation Centre at Cockerill in Freetown.

Present at the ceremony were the Human Resource & Resource Mobilization Officer of the COVID-19 Response Team, Cyrus Sheriff, Member of the Strategic Planning Team, EOC Covid-19 Response Team, Moses Miller, Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Laurent Bukasa, Corporate Affairs Manager, Albert Ojo Collier, Mrs Zorah Anthony, Head of HR – SLBL, Mrs Aminata Kassim-Carew, Marketing Manager (SLBL) and Corporate Affairs Assistant, Unisa Conteh.

In his address, the Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Laurent Bukasa, expressed appreciation to the Government of Sierra Leone for its pro-activeness in putting measures in place to curtail the spread of coronavirus in the country, adding that Brewery is a development partner underscoring how in that regard they are extremely humbled to donate the aforementioned items to the Government and People of Sierra Leone through the Covid-19 Response Team.

He said the company bought a huge quantity of alcohol which was locally processed to 70% making it possible for the 2,000 litres of alcohol sanitizer that were donated by SLBL, noting that hand washing is very key towards curtailing the spread of the virus. He said it is in that regard that they are not only donating the sanitizers but also 5 Milla Hand washing machines with accessories stressing such will be placed at various locations for people to observe regular hand washing.

He admonished citizens to adhere to the preventive measures instituted by Government and the health practitioners in order to curtail the spread of the virus in the country.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Government, a member of the Strategic Planning Team of the EOC Covid-19 Response Team, Moses Miller, expressed gratitude to the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited for the items donated praising such as a timely intervention.

He assured them that the COVID-19 Response Team will supervise the proper distribution and utilization of the donated items assuring that they will reach the targeted beneficiaries.

Managing Director of the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Laurent Bukasa

Member of the Strategic Planning Team, EOC Covid-19 Response Team, Moses Miller & the Human Resource & Resource Mobilization Officer of the COVID-19 Response Team, Cyrus Sheriff and Staff of EOC

Member of the Strategic Planning Team, EOC Covid-19 Response Team, Moses Miller receiving the items on behalf of the Covid-19 Response Team.

Cross Section of the items donated towards the covid-19 fight

The truck packed with the items donated towards the covid-19 fight

Solidaridad Supports the Fight to Combat COVID-19

April 22, 2020

By Sahid Ahmed Nasralla (De Monk)

Sierra Leone is one of the few countries in the sub-region that has presently recorded fewer cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). But in a country where the scourge of the Ebola Viral Disease left a significant footprint, the Government is taking no chances but pursuing proactive measures to stem the tide of the pandemic.

Solidaridad is committed to complementing the Government’s effort to control the spread of the disease. Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, through its District Health Management Teams to step up public awareness of the pandemic, Solidaridad has supported the production of relevant Information, Education and Communication materials for dissemination to over 20,000 farmers in 300 local communities. In these areas, Solidaridad is already providing sustainable solutions to improve the lives of cocoa, oil palm, cashew and coffee farmers.

“The contribution of development organizations like Solidaridad to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is crucial especially in border points of the Eastern province”, says Sheku Momoh, a community health officer in Buedu in Kailahun district of the Eastern province.

Receiving some materials for dissemination, Sheku commended Solidaridad for being the first organization to respond by providing the necessary tools to create awareness about the disease. He assured the items would be distributed to schools, clinics and local communities along the country’s borders.

The awareness drive also covers school pupils in the targeted communities.

“Solidaridad is happy to provide support to reach school pupils so that they can pass on relevant information on COVID-19 to their parents or other members of their households. This is one way we can ensure that the message reaches many people,” says Nicholas Jengre, Solidaridad Country Representative in Sierra Leone.

School pupils in Sierra Leone being taught how to cough to prevent cough-droplet-spread

Farming communities in the Eastern province where Solidaridad currently implements its cocoa and oil palm sustainability actions have in the past suffered from the outbreak of Lassa fever and the Ebola Viral Disease. With the scourge of COVID-19 on the horizon, the farmers are happy to receive information that can keep them protected.

“Solidaridad seeks to help farmers attain self-sufficiency and maximise available local resources. Cognizant of the potential adverse impact of COVID-19 on their lives, we are happy to support the Ministry of Health in a multi-sectoral approach to prevent and control the spread of the disease to farming communities,” says Nicholas.

Additionally, awareness materials on COVID-19 have been provided to border security personnel and local chiefs working with local partners. In local communities, Solidaridad has adjusted its programme implementation to incorporate coronavirus awareness in field engagement with farmers.

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