Fatshimétrie – A crucial step in the fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone
This September 2021, Sierra Leone is preparing to launch a historic vaccination campaign against Ebola. Ten years after the devastating scourge that claimed the lives of thousands of people in West Africa, the country’s authorities are resolutely fighting to protect their population through the introduction of the single-dose Ebola vaccine.
The 2014 Ebola epidemic, the deadliest in history, hit Sierra Leone hard, causing nearly 4,000 deaths out of the more than 11,000 recorded worldwide. A heavy blow for the country, which also lost 7% of its health workers during this tragedy.
The new vaccination campaign is focused on protecting those most at risk of the disease, prioritizing healthcare workers and first responders such as the police, military, and traditional healers. Cynthia Reffell, a healthcare professional involved in the fight, emphasizes the importance of this preventative approach to stem the spread of the disease.
The rollout of this nationwide campaign is the result of close collaboration between the Sierra Leonean government and organizations such as the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF. No fewer than 20,000 frontline workers across the country are targeted by this unprecedented initiative.
To ensure the success of this vaccination campaign, authorities and healthcare professionals have called on the country’s traditional healers to raise awareness in their respective communities about the importance of getting vaccinated. Darlington Coker, a traditional healer, emphasizes the crucial role of local stakeholders in this preventative campaign.
It is worth recalling that no vaccine was available during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which affected up to 28,000 people, starting in Guinea before spreading to Sierra Leone and Liberia. Despite the absence of cases recorded in Guinea for three years, authorities warn of the risks still present in endemic regions.
In conclusion, the launch of this Ebola vaccination campaign in Sierra Leone marks a major step forward in the fight against this dreaded disease. It is a crucial step to protect the population and avoid another health catastrophe. Let us hope that this initiative will help to eradicate Ebola from the region once and for all, thus providing a safer and healthier future for all.