UNMEER SRSG lauds school reopening in Sierra Leone, says country is set to defeat Ebola

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, welcomed the reopening of schools in Sierra Leone as a sign that the country was returning to normalcy.

Sierra Leonean schools were closed for nine months due to the Ebola outbreak, but with the ebbing epidemic some of the 1.8 million children started going back to school yesterday.

Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed acknowledged that all schools might not reopen at the same time. However, he encouraged teachers, communities and parents to educate children on Ebola prevention protocols. “Children can be great social mobilizers,” he said.

The SRSG, who was on a two-day visit to Sierra Leone with the World Health Organization’s Assistant Director General, Bruce Aylward, thanked the government, the UN-system, particularly the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for making the schools safe again.  UNICEF trained 9,000 teachers in Ebola prevention, safety guidelines and psycho-social support and provided 24,300 hand washing stations and cleaning equipment for about 8,000 schools.

The SRSG said that Sierra Leone was on the right track to defeating Ebola. “I must say that the fundamentals are in place. Transmission used to be in double digits but now we are having single digits.”

Ebola transmissions in the country are now confined to the districts of Kambia and Port Loko as well as in the Western Area which includes the capital Freetown.   

Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed warned against two factors that could inhibit success. The first is when EVD deaths are not coming from contact lists and the second is when people with symptoms report late. “I must emphasize that if people who have symptoms report early, their chances of survival are higher.”

At the Centre in Port Loko, Mr. Aylward said that the period when everyone is fighting to achieve zero transmission could be very difficult. “It can be depressing, it can be demoralizing, but don’t give up,” he beseeched response workers.

Port Loko recorded zeros cases for several days preceding the visit of the top UN officials. Although there is still transmission in Kambia, the delegation was informed of a significant reduction in deaths from quarantined homes.

In the Western Area, 608 persons in 181 households are currently under quarantine. Five households (21 people) just completed the 21-day quarantine period and more are expected to be released soon. 

Before leaving Sierra Leone, Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed and the UNMEER country Emergency Crisis Manager, Ms Keita, also visited the Hagan Street market in Freetown to inspect a public toilet disinfection scheme funded by UNMEER’s Quick Impact Project [2]. The virus was contained in the densely populated community due in part to the disinfection.

Speaking to the youth involved in the project the SRSG said: “We are so close to defeating Ebola that we cannot let the success we are getting slip off.” He said the international community would assist but that Sierra Leoneans will have to make the difference. “That is why I am very happy with your efforts in this community.”