Freetown 30 July 2014 - His Excellency President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone visited Kenema and Kailahun on 28 and 29 July respectively to assess the level of the  ongoing Ebola outbreak in the two districts. This is the first visit of the President to the two epicentres of the outbreak since the onset of the disease in May this year. 

The President undertook the visit together with the Minister of Health and Sanitation Madam Miatta Kargbo, Minister of Information and Communications Mr Alpha Kanu and the World Health Organization Country Representative to Sierra Leone Dr Jacob Mufunda. The symbolic visit by His Excellency the President was a clear signal of the seriousness and commitment of the government to address the outbreak. Some of the major outcomes of the visit of the President and his entourage included meetings with the local authorities in the two districts  including chiefs and traditional leaders, local council representatives and visits to the treatment centres.

The President in both districts applauded the advocacy role and social mobilization efforts from local authorities in the response activities in their localities. The role of the districts in continuous engagement of every sector of the communities to minimize risks associated with the disease and the immediate interruption of its transmission “to save the lives of our people” was underscored. He assured the audiences that the government is closely engaging partners including the World Health Organization to garner local and international resources to fight the disease. President Koroma also praised the bravery of the volunteer health workers who are supporting the response in the field and reiterated their immediate integration into the civil service 

Addressing the local authorities the Minister of Health and Sanitation Madam Miatta Kargbo appealed to the chiefs and traditional leaders to improve community acceptance of the interventions and provide support where they could to enhance reduction of the cases. The Minister highlighted her gratitude to the “foot soldiers” the nurses who risk their lives to attend to patients. The “five star generals” in the name of the District Medical Officers were also commended. A minute of silence was observed in memory of the health workers who unfortunately succumbed to the disease during duty. 

Meanwhile the WHO Representative Dr Mufunda informed the audiences that “this is the biggest Ebola outbreak in the history of the disease”. He highlighted the severity of the outbreak and emphasised that  breaking the chain of transmission is critical in controlling the outbreak. Dr Mufunda urged the government and the local partners including the chiefs to strengthen and support contact tracing and quarantining the symptomatic cases before early transfer to treatment centres. He added that the training of burial teams to prevent transmission was also critical in the intervention. Dr Mufunda stressed the need for the strengthening of treatment centres by capacitating  national staff for sustainability. 

Meanwhile, yesterday 31 July 2014, President Koroma during an Emergency Presidential Development Partners Committee Meeting at state house pledged ten million United States Dollars ($10m) on behalf of his government towards fulfilling the budgetary needs of the revised national accelerated Ebola response plan. The President stated during the meeting that “failure is not an option” in the fight against the disease. He urged donor partners to support the fund gap of the six months plan. The revised budget of the response plan is $25.9M. So far 17.6 million dollars (including the contribution pledged by the President) have been pledged with a total gap of $8.2M. The development partners including the UN family, European Union, the World Bank and other partners assured the President of their continued support and commitment to contribute and mobilize additional requisite resources for timely implementation of the response plan.

The first incidence of the Ebola Virus disease in Sierra Leone was     reported in Kailahun District on 24 May 2014 and has since spread to 11 of the country’s 13 administrative districts. To date there are more than 500 confirmed cases and about 150 deaths countrywide. Kailahun and Kenema districts are still reporting most of the cases and deaths.

The World Health Organization  pledges to continue to provide strategic technical, financial and logistical support in the outbreak response.

1. President Koroma and entourage at the Ebola management centre in Kailahun District being briefed by a MSF staff
2. The President observing infection prevention and control procedures at the Ebola management centre
3. Dr Jacob Mufunda, WHO Representative delivering a statement in Kenema during the visits to Kenema and Kailahun. Second left is President Koroma and next to him is the Minister of Health Madam Kargbo
4. Cross section of the audience