Ebola emergency is over – WHO declares

By Kemo Cham

The West African Ebola epidemic is no longer an international public health emergency, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared on Tuesday.

The UN health agency said the viral disease outbreak which wrecked Sierra Leone and its neighbors Liberia and Guinea no longer constituted a public health emergency of international concern as the first leg of the original transmission had come to an end.

WHO declares an outbreak as an international health emergency when it is considered a threat to international public health. The 2014 Ebola outbreak was designated as such in August 2014, some 20 months ago, when the viral outbreak was at its peak.

Tuesday’s announcement came following the recommendation from an independent committee of experts which advices the WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan.

“The Committee provided its view that Ebola transmission in West Africa no longer constitutes an extraordinary event, that the risk of international spread is now low,

Stigma, discrimination stifle TB eradication efforts in Sierra Leone

By Kemo Cham

[First published on politicosl.com] Sierra Leone risks losing the fight to contain Tuberculosis or TBif adequate resources are not provided towards sensitization, officials and activists have warned.

Stigma and discrimination, among other factors, have plotted to keep TB sufferers away from treatment centers, threatening the country’s chance of ending transmission of the disease that is caused by bacteria, they said. Sierra Leone’s effort to end transmission of the disease has also been hindered by fears of multiple drug resistance, a phenomenon that further complicates treatment of the disease.

The warnings came as part of commemorations marking World Tuberculosis Day last week, March 24.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), which targets ending transmission of TB by 2030, used the day to call for increased funding towards TB control.

TB, an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, most commonly affects the lungs. The disease is transmitted from person to person via droplets from the throat and lungs of people with the active respiratory disease.

Sierra Leone declared Ebola-free, again

By Kemo Cham

[First published on www.politicosl.com] Sierra Leone was declared free-of the Ebola virus transmission for the second time last week after 42 days of countdown.

But unlike the first Ebola-free declaration at the end of last year, this time there was less buoyancy in the celebrations on March 17.The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and the World Health Organisaion (WHO) used the occasion to warnof a possible resurgence of the virus that has plagued the West Africa region for the last over two years.

Sierra Leone was first declared free of the virus on 7 November 2015. And in January this year the death of a school girl in the Tonkolili District sparked a new flare-up. Hundreds of people were quarantined subsequently.One person, besides the index case, died. A second case was

Health partners brainstorm on maternal mortality

By Kemo Cham

[First published on Politicosl] Health ministry officials and partners on Wednesday engaged on a brainstorming session to tackle the country’s high rate of maternal mortality.

Officials from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), NGOs and civil society organizations stressed the need for collaboration, provision of relevant resources and assurance of sustainability for projects being implemented.

Sierra Leone currently ranks as having the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, at 1, 360 deaths per 100, 000 live births. This has been largely attributed to the dysfunctional nature of the healthcare system as a whole. The Italian NGO Doctors With Africa, known by its acronym CUAMM, managed to run what has been described as the maternal healthcare delivery facility in the country. It is located in one of the remotest part of the country – Pujehun District.

Besides the over 300, 000 population in Pujehun, CUAAM serves people from neighboring districts.

Wednesday’s session was convened to share ideas on how to replicate the Pujehun

Sierra Leone abortion Act to be put to a referendum

By Kemo Cham

[First published on Politicosl] By all indications Sierra Leoneans are going to have to decide the fate of the proposed abortion law in a referendum, according to information received by Politico.

According to aleaked official StateHouse document,President Ernest Bai Koroma has decided not to append his signature on a law he doesn’t think has any respect for the sanctity of life.

The President, according to the document said in order for the Act tobecome law should be determined by the people. Koroma also said he would hand-over the bill to the Constitutional Review Committeeto includeit into its draft recommendations which are due to be presented for the upcoming referendum.

But some pro-choice activists have questioned the legality for such a move and the President’s ultimate intention.

The ‘Safe Abortion Act 2016’ seeks to replace the pre-colonial 1861 English lawwhich criminalizes abortion. It was first passed by parliament in December 2015 unanimously and sent to the President’s office for his signature before tobecome law.But Koroma,back then in January,

US doctor with Lassa fever flown out of West Africa

By Kemo Cham

[First published on Politicosl] A US doctor working with missionaries in Togo has been taken into an isolation ward at a US hospital after been diagnosed with a suspected Lassa Fever infection.

The patient was flown out of West Africa on Thursday, reports indicate.

Lassa Fever is a highly deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola. They both are viral diseases.

Lassa Fever is usually acquired from infected rats.

Nigeria has been battling the viral outbreak for the last few months after the 2014/2015 Ebola epidemic subsided. It is believed that the Nigerian outbreak may be spreading to its neighbouring countries.

The US patient was flown out in a specially equipped aircraft from Togo and was expected to arrive at Emory University Hospital the next day.

The isolation ward is where Emory successfully treated four Ebola patients in 2014.

Lassa fever has been endemic in Africa for many years, with up to 300,000 infections annually.

Cannabis may help treat epilepsy – report

By Kemo Cham

[First published on www.politicosl.com] A clinical trial on a drug manufactured from Cannabis has proved successful in the treatment of a rare form of severe epilepsy in children, reports said.

The drug, Epidiolex, is manufactured by UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals with the use of cannabinoids, an active ingredients found in marijuana. It is used to treat Dravet syndrome.

The final result of the trial is expected later this year.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that is caused by electrical sparks which leads to seizures. Dravet syndrome is a type of epilepsy with seizures that are often triggered by hot temperatures or fever. It often begins around six months of age.

Some 120-patient involved in the trial showed achieved a median reduction in monthly convulsive seizures of 39 percent compared with a reduction on placebo of 13 percent, the findings show, according to a Reuters report.

“This shows that cannabinoids can produce

Stigma & discrimination widespread in Sierra Leone

[First published on www.politicosl.com] Despite the existence of a law prohibiting stigmatisation and discrimination of people living with HIV, the practice is at an alarming rate, anti-HIV/AIDS campaigners have warned.
Stigmatization is prevalent at all levels of society and it is driving people who should seek life-saving help, like HIV/AIDS sufferers, to go into hiding, posing further threats to society, officials of the National AIDS Secretariat (NAS) and UNAIDS, said.
Dr. Momodu Sesay, Executive Director of NAS, said evidence abound that there was stigmatisation at all levels, including health facilities, and places of worship.
“We are not only looking at stigma against HIV/AIDS people, but we are also looking at stigma against people who survived Ebola…,” he said in a statement marking the 2016 Zero Discrimination Day. The global event, celebrated on March 1, was set aside to raise awareness against stigma and discrimination in all forms.
The UNAIDS country office and NAS collaborated to host a press conference on the commemoration, where officials severely lamented the increasing trend of stigmatization in the country.
It takes the trend of exclusion from social gathering, places of work, places of worship, family activities, and it is expressed differently, said Dr Sesay.
He said common implications of this were that people go underground; they have suicidal tendencies, or they resort to tendencies of willful transmission, as retribution.
“And all of this affect treatment and increases morbidity, said Dr Sesay.
While the Zero Discrimination Day covers all forms of discrimination, a major concern is on people living with HIV.
The Stigma Index study of 2014 conducted by NAS and partners showed that 71% of people complained been stigmatized through gossiping, and 16% complained of verbal insult; Sex workers were mostly found to be faced with physical harassment.
“It is unacceptable to discriminate against people, be they people living with HIV/AIDS, be they sex workers, be they disabled; it’s bad to discriminate against them,” said Dr Sesay.
“Everyone, irrespective of where they come from, should be given space to live their lives,” added UNAIDS Country Director, Dr Michael Boum.
He said only 52% of people living with HIV in the country were coming out to access seek treatment and other services. And only one third of the over 4, 000 children among these were accessing the services, he said.
The UNAIDS chief said having these people fully access treatment was crucial to ending HIV transmission, which also hinged on Zero discrimination, which could only be attained if everyone worked together.
Mr Foday Sawi Lahai, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, re-echoed the views of the UNAIDS and NAS bosses, stressing that stigma and discrimination were great barriers to ending HIV transmission.
He said in a statement: “Healthcare settings, communities and work place should be considered as safe and caring environments, however, such cases are happening to frequently in the country.”
He added: “Any obstacles that inhibit access to healthcare facilities, including to testing, treatment and care services, destroy self-esteem and must be removed.”
According to NAS, at least 55, 000 people are living with the HIV virus in Sierra Leone. And these people are represented by an umbrella organization called the Network of HIV Positives (NETHIPS).
Their head, Idrissa Songo, said the only way to address the issue of discrimination and stigmatisation was with the full implementation of the law prohibiting them.
The HIV/AIDS Act 2011 deals with discriminatory acts and policies. Amongst others, it forbids denial of a person to the right to employment, education, or entry into the country on the basis of their HIV status.
Songo said the law hadn’t really been fully implemented, and he noted that all the odds of society were against people living with HIV.
When an issue got to court it had financial implications, he told Politico in an interview. He said when a complainant had no money to hire lawyers, they had problem.
“From our end, the point of view of NETHIPS, we really want to see that whosoever stigmatizes us faces the full force of the law,” he said.
He said he wanted to see fines and imprisonment for offenders.
There has been some level of improvement though. About a decade ago, it was unheard of for people to shake hands of people living with HIV. This has changed. And campaigners believe a little more awareness raising will help end stigma as it is known today.
(C) Politico 10/03/16

Vaccination: African leaders recommit to global plan

[First published on www.politicosl.com] Despite a dramatic increase in the global vaccination rates in the last two decades more still needs to be done to tackle life threatening diseases prevalent in Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned last month.

Ahead of the first ever Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa (February 25 – 26), the UN’s health agency said one in five children on the continent did not receive basic life-saving vaccines particularly against diseases like measles, rubella and neonatal tetanus. These illnesses have virtually been eradicated in some parts of the world but remain prevalent and deadly on the continent.

Child vaccination rates rose from 57% in 2000 to 80% in 2014. But WHO said Africa’s routine immunization coverage of 80 % is still the lowest of any region in the world.

The ministerial conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was convened by WHO and co-hosted by the African Union. Its main thrust was to renew commitments towards achieving the goals of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP).

GVAP, reached in 2012 at the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva,

Female lawyers support abortion law

[First published on www.politicosl.com] Female lawyers of Sierra Leone have expressed support for calls for an abortion law, urging the government to pass a revised version of the controversial new abortion Act.

In a statement marking International Women’s Day, the umbrella body representing the country’s female lawyers, the Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality, Rights and Social Justice (LAWYERS), proffers some recommendations to be included in the Safe Abortion Act 2016 and make it acceptable by all.

The new Act, which is currently stuck on the desk of President Ernest Bai Koroma, seeks to decriminalize abortion so that deaths and injuries due to unsafe abortion could be stopped. But it has faced strong opposition from religious leaders who cite moral considerations.

In their statement ahead of the commemoration on Tuesday March 8, the women lawyers said the abortion law will protect and enhance women’s reproductive health rights and that the Sierra Leone government was obliged to fulfill its commitment to international treaties it is party to.

Sierra Leone welcomes US support against Malaria

[First published on www.politicosl.com] The Sierra Leone government has welcomed the decision of the US government to include the West African country into its anti-malaria crusade.

Sierra Leone was named alongside Ivory Coast and Cameroon as new entrants into the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) run by the White House. The PMI seeks to eradicate the parasitic disease in Africa and Aisa.

A joint statement by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), and the US embassy in Freetown last week said the move comes in handy for the Sierra Leone government in its drive to tackle Malaria which is over 40 percent prevalent in the country.

“The inclusion of Sierra Leone in the PMI will be a realization of the request by His Excellency, the President Ernest bai Koroma during a White House meeting in 2013 with President Barrack Obama,” the MoHS said in the statement.

The PMI is a bipartisan effort initiated by President George W. Bush and

Sierra Leone ends mass Polio vaccination exercise

Sierra Leone has concluded a four-day anti-polio campaign with a nationwide mass vaccination exercise.

About 1, 493, 785 children were targeted in the first round of the Polio campaign planned for 2016 as part of the Child Health/Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) revitalization plans.

The exercise, which ran from Friday February 26 to Monday February 29, was supported by the UN agencies WHO and Unicef.

Officials said that it was part of a wider effort to rid Africa of the viral disease that affects children and leaves them paralised.

Procurement unit begins Free Health drugs distribution

The National Pharmaceutical Procurement Unit (NPPU) is set to commence nationwide distribution of Free Health Care drugs, according to officials.

NPPU officials last week said $6million worth of drugs were due to be distributed to 23 hospitals and 1,209 Peripheral Health Units (PHUs) nationwide as part of the first quarter distribution for 2016.The exercise was slated to commence on 29 February and would end on 30 March.

The NPPU is the drugs procurement arm of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and it is autonomous.

The Free Health Care is a partial health insurance scheme, powered by foreign donors,which targets vulnerable members of the population: pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under five years, for free medical examination and access to a limited number of drugs.

The British Department for International Development (DFID), the UN agency Unicef, and USAIDare among the major supporters of the initiative which was first introduced in 2010 by the government in response to high rate of maternal and infant mortality, mainly fuelled by a decrepit health system worsened by the 11-year [1991-2002] civil war. 

Ebola causes neurological problems for survivors – report

It seems revelations on the effect of the Ebola epidemic are far from over. The latest revelations suggest a possible longer effect of the virus on the mental ability of survivors.

A new study by US-based National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) confirmed what has been a long held suspicion on the effect of the Ebola virus on survivors.

According to the report released last week, many survivors of the deadly viral disease face certain neurological symptoms that last long even after the potentially deadly infection had worn off.

“While an end to the outbreak has been declared, these survivors are still struggling with long-term problems,” said Dr. Lauren Bowen, the study author, according to an American Academy of Neurology news release.

The researchers said they evaluated the health of around 82 survivors of the disease in Liberia, one of three countries hardest hit by the epidemic that erupted in early 2014 and lasted until early 2016.

Over 11, 000 lives were lost to it worldwide, mostly in the three neighboring countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, with over 28, 000 cases.

Sierra Leone has over 3000 survivors and lost close to 4000 people to the virus.

The NINDS researchers said most of the survivors were struggling with one or the other kind of post Ebola neurological issues six months after they were first infected with the deadly virus.

They said the common symptoms associated with the survivors included memory loss, headache, depression, weakness, muscle pain, irregular reflexes and abnormal eye movements.

“We wanted to find out more about possible continued long-term brain health problems for the more than 17,000 survivors of the infection. It is important for us to know how this virus may continue to affect the brain long-term,” said Bowen.

Calls to investigate high alcohol content

A youth organization last week called on the Sierra Leone government to investigate alcohol contents in local brews which are blamed for the increasing high rate of crime in the country.

Alcohol manufacturers have been accused of putting high alcohol contents in their brews against existing policies, which buyers tend to prefer anyway. The problem is that the local brews, which are overly cheap, are particularly popular among young people.

The Youth Empowerment and Development Association Sierra Leone (YEDA – SL) said last week the actions of these brewers was setting the country on the path to destruction and it called on the government to act.

ZMapp promising treatment for Ebola – new study

A study released last week has indicated that the experimental Ebola treatment ZMapp has promising potential in treating patients of the deadly viral disease.

The study findings show that the drug sharply increases the chance of surviving virus, according to details released at last week’s medical conference in the US.

ZMapp was one of about half a dozen experimental drugs deployed during the epidemic for trial. But researchers were frustrated by dwindling cases when the epidemic halted so that there weren’t enough patients to administer drugs on.

The ZMapp study involves 72 patients, out of the 200 originally planned. It found that 22 percent of participants given ZMapp died, compared