Sierra Leone Media Centre

In early July, more than 197,000 children aged between 6 months and 15 years were vaccinated against measles in a targeted immunization campaign in Koinadugu district in northern Sierra Leone.
Reaching some of the country’s most remote areas, the campaign was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with support from the World Health Organization, UNICEF Sierra Leone, UK Department for International Development, the World Bank and other health partners following confirmed cases of the disease among children in two far apart communities in that district.

Upon learning of the first Ebola cases reported in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone in October 2014, the World Health Organization and partners acted swiftly to track new transmission chains, increase key resources on the ground, and establish remote community care centers where they could do the most good. With support from the government and traditional leaders, this coordinated, targeted response is beginning to show signs of bringing the localized outbreak under control. 

In November 2014, WHO spokesperson Winnie Romeril joined WHO and partners on the ground and filed this video report. 

The Western Area of Sierra Leone is the “hotspot” in this Ebola outbreak at the moment, with the highest transmission of any of the 3 most affected countries.

The Government of Sierra Leone, WHO and partners, are sending in a massive surge of staff and resources to this area to intensify efforts to curb the spread of Ebola disease.

Sierra Leone has more than 2000 known Ebola survivors, who have been celebrated as heroes all over the country. But once back in the community, they face the harsh reality of stigmatization. As a young boy and orphan, Sherrie used to live with his uncle, until he was discharged from the Ebola treatment centre and he found that he wasn’t welcome back in his own home. Inspired by strength and courage, Sherrie and a few other survivors have created “the Rescue Team”, an association of Ebola survivors. The association already has more than 90 survivors from Port Loko district alone, the majority of whom are young adults.

Hand hygiene action to support containment of the Ebola outbreak has been crucial for all health workers. In Sierra Leone, WHO has supported training on the recommended hand cleansing steps to be performed as well as the products that can be used, monitoring progress with improvement over these months.