Five Years On: Ebola Victims Remembered In Sierra Leone
It is five years after Sierra Leone officially was declared Ebola-free.
Mr. Yusuf Kabba, President, Sierra Leone Association of Ebola survivors (SLAES)
As a way of commemorating the fallen victims of the crisis in Sierra Leone, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law Sierra Leone ( CARL - SL) and Sierra Leone Association of Ebola survivors (SLAES) and partners, dedicated Monday 29th July 2019 to remember the victims of the deadly outbreak in Sierra Leone.
Over the past months, CARL-SL and SLAES conducted countrywide consultations targeting Ebola survivors, healthcare workers who handled Ebola patients, Councilor, Community Headmen, Town/Section Chiefs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to name but few. These consultations highlighted the challenges and problems the Ebola survivors continue to face since the end of the crisis in the country.
The Ebola survivors faced chronic health-related problems. Problems as erectile dysfunction, male infertility, partial blindness, joint pains, loss of appetite, severe headache, abnormal menstruations, hearing problems, fatigue, and mental health due to depression.
The Ebola survivors reiterated their quest for medical, psychological, and mental health support.
There is a need for employment opportunities and job training, particularly for Ebola healthcare workers and volunteers; educational scholarships for Ebola survivors and Ebola orphans, they noted.
The Ebola epidemic, which plagued Sierra Leone between May 2014 and November 2015 was the deadliest epidemic to hit the country in decades.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recorded 14,124 confirmed cases and 3,956 death, devastated communities, and homes.
Many of those deaths included healthcare workers who took on the task of containing the outbreak. Among the deceased was Dr. Sheik Umar Khan. Dr. Sheik Umar Khan was a leading doctor from Sierra Leone specializing in viral hemorrhagic fever.
Augustine Marrah Esq., Counsel for plaintiffs (Left) and Mr. Ibrahim Tommy Esq., Executive Director, CARL, Public Interest Plaintiff (Right)
In December 2017, two healthcare workers (plaintiff) infected with and survived Ebola and the Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law (CARL-SL) filed a lawsuit against the government of Sierra Leone at the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
The plaintiffs alleged that the government's mismanagement of US $14M in Ebola response funds caused violations of the right to life and health of Sierra Leoneans.
The plaintiffs rely on the findings of two special audit reports released by the Audit Service of Sierra Leone in 2015, which found that the health sector was liable during the Ebola crisis.