“Ebola was an unknown disease for Sierra Leoneans. When it came to our country, people didn’t believe it was Ebola.”

Abu Bakarr Tarawallie cuts the look of a weary man. It would be an understatement to say that the last 18 months have been challenging for him and his Sierra Leone Red Cross colleagues.

hey know they are close to ridding their country of Ebola. But equally, they know that the disease has halted the green shoots of development in post-war Sierra Leone.

“We had so many goals for our country, some of which were very ambitious,” he says.

“We’re a very poor country. The majority of our population lives below the poverty line with little or no access to basic amenities such as health care, water facilities or toilets.

“We were beginning to get on the right track for making development. Having gone through the civil war, we were getting new infrastructure. But now, all the progress we made has been lost.”

Starting to panic

Abu and his colleague Steven Koroma are in London for meetings with their British Red Cross colleagues. The pair have been intrinsically involved in co-ordinating the fight against Ebola by the Sierra Leone Red Cross.

They recall with sombre voices the moment in May 2014 when Ebola arrived in Sierra Leone.

“If we had the capacity, we could have done more to stop its spread,” says Steven. “We didn’t have the resources or the manpower.”

At first, people denied it was Ebola. Its symptoms can be easily mistaken for more common diseases.

Then the deaths started to mount up: five people, a family, half a village.

“People started to panic,” says Abu. “There was a lot of confusion and fear. Rumours, conspiracy theories and misconceptions spread.

“It was difficult to get people to listen and accept information about Ebola.”

And then there was the poor choice of messaging from authorities. People were told that Ebola has no cure – which is true. But it meant they didn’t seek help at treatment centres.

“They saw that people who went to treatment centres didn’t come back,” says Steven.

“People thought that if this thing has no cure, then why should I take my relative to a treatment centre? They thought they would be killed.

“So they started hiding. That led to a rapid spread of Ebola.”

Burying the dead

Red Cross volunteers played – and continue to play – a key role in helping to dispel myths and rumours.

Raising awareness is one of the five key steps they use to beat the disease. Safe and dignified burials are another crucial job carried out by volunteers.

The bodies of Ebola victims remain infectious, so have to be buried safely and with dignity.

Ebola has claimed 3,953 lives in Sierra Leone. To date, volunteers have carried out 22,985 safe and dignified burials.

They can’t take any chances. Anyone suspected of dying from Ebola will be buried according to strict procedures. But that wasn’t always the case.

Traditional burial practices in Sierra Leone involve washing the corpse, which contributed to the spread of Ebola.

Steven shares a story that highlights how traditional practices and a lack of information proved deadly.

“There was an imam in a village near Bo,” he recalls. “He was respected and revered by the people. He died of Ebola.

“The water they used to wash his body, people took that water and used it to wash themselves and their children in the hope they would get some of the imam’s blessings.

“That one burial wiped out nearly the entire village.”

Trauma and stress

It wasn’t easy to find volunteers willing to carry out the burials. Those who put themselves forward were understandably scared.

Some went away after their first day and never came back. Others faced stigma and rejection by their communities.

“For those who had the courage to do it, the job was a hell of trauma and stress,” says Abu.

“It’s a whole day of continuous picking up and transporting corpses, day in day out, seven days a week.

“Some had stories of seeing bodies they had just buried. They would say they had just seen the person they had buried walking down the street. It is a traumatic job.”

Beautiful plans

Sierra Leone is tantalisingly close to defeating Ebola. In the week to 13 September, the country recorded five new cases of Ebola – the highest number of new cases since July.

In the same week, Guinea recorded no new cases, the first time this has happened for a year. Liberia has been declared Ebola free and is now in a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

There are many lessons to be learned from the Ebola outbreak, both by those in West Africa, and the international community.

Recovery will take time and investment, but Sierra Leone has been here before.

“We have beautiful plans in place to get us back on our feet,” says Stephen with a smile – the first he has mustered during our interview.

It’s a smile that suggests his nation is starting to look towards a more positive future.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During the late 1990s and early 2000s populations across several West African countries endured civil war, violence that spilled over borders and mass atrocities perpetrated by both armed rebels and governments. The repercussions of identitybased conflict ensured that inter-communal divisions, socioeconomic instability and weak or corrupt governance remained pervasive throughout the region even after the conflicts had ended. Today, however, actions taken at all levels are changing the pattern of conflict and governance in West Africa and countries that previously experienced mass atrocity crimes are now implementing structural reforms to ensure that violent conflict does not recur.

This occasional paper from the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect assesses institutions that play a role in mass atrocity prevention at the national, regional and international level in West Africa. From Ghana’s National Peace Council to the Early Warning Response Network of the Economic Community of West African States, diverse actors throughout the region are taking critical steps towards safeguarding populations from mass atrocity crimes.

Case studies of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone review preventive mechanisms undertaken after mass atrocities have occurred, addressing the gaps between the need and desire to rebuild and the reality of post-conflict government capacity. This paper is being published at a moment that will serve as a critical test for preventive efforts undertaken by Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire as both countries prepare for October 2015 elections.In the case of Côte d’Ivoire, following a 2011 post-election crisis that resulted in more than 3,000 deaths, the new government promised wide-ranging reforms to ensure that the country did not relapse into conflict. While many of these reforms have had positive results, an incomplete accountability and reconciliation process threatens the long-term stability of the country.

In Guinea, long-delayed parliamentary elections, a history of violent conflict and previous atrocities committed by the security forces created serious risks ahead of the 2013 legislative elections. While many worried that the government had not undertaken sufficient reforms, the elections that took place in September 2013 were relatively peaceful. As the country approaches a crucial presidential ballot, the case study examines the role of sustained engagement at the regional and international level in aiding Guinea in its preventive efforts.

Together these cases show that prevention, which is at the core of the Responsibility to Protect, has been embraced by a variety of West African states. While not all prevention and protection needs have been resolved, the paper argues that investments that result in incremental changes have significant value in helping societies become more resilient to mass atrocities.

Finally, the persistence of West African countries in pursuing decades-long reforms demonstrates that while prevention is neither an easy nor a fast process, sustained commitment is essential to addressing the root causes of conflict and protecting vulnerable populations from mass atrocity crimes.

By State House Communications Unit

President Ernest Bai Koroma Friday 25th September 2015 informed the head of International Organization for Migration (IOM) that flood victims and other slum dwellers have consented to be relocated to new and safer settlements.

President Koroma made the statement while receiving update from the Minister of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs, Alhaji Moijueh Kaikai, on the current situation.

As Ebola is being brought under control, President Koroma disclosed that the flooding has created new opportunity for government to relocate flood victims and other slum dwellers, informing that the public including non-slum dwellers are highly supportive of government’s relocation initiative.

He furthered that the relocation exercise has to commence with the Kroobay community, as government has already identified Six Mile as one of the suitable locations for resettlement of the first set of flood victims. President Koroma therefore instructed Minister Kaikai to coordinate with line ministries to ensure community ownership of the process, as victims are in readiness to be relocated.

While insisting on relocation of slum dwellers in the Western Area, President Koroma said government is ensuring to make life better for them, by creating adaptable environment and provide them with the necessary social facilities, including markets, schools, hospitals that will encourage victims to live there.

Head of IOM Sanusi Savage informed President Koroma that his organization has been working in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs in the areas of coordination from both Siaka Stevens Stadium and the Brima Attouga Mini-Stadium, where they have been providing screening for EVD and related infections, and providing first aid treatment and supplies to victims.

IOM Emergency Coordinator, Jonathan Baker reaffirmed IMO’s coordination with government in addressing the plight of flood victims, adding that they have so far provided support in communications, health care, protection, water and sanitation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• CDC Foundation dedicates emergency operations centers in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone

• USAID/OFDA partners provide emergency assistance and IPC support for flood-affected people in Sierra Leone

• GoG approves use of rapid diagnostic tests for EVD

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• Following 14 days with no new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases, the Government of Guinea (GoG) reported two EVD-positive cases in Conakry Prefecture between September 16 and 20. Guinea’s National Ebola Coordination Cell plans to launch an active EVD case finding campaign on September 28 to mitigate the risk of further EVD transmission.

• The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has released a framework for the current Phase 3 of the regional EVD response, identifying two key objectives: to define and interrupt all remaining chains of EVD transmission and to identify, manage, and respond to residual risks. Using Phase 3 strategies, response actors aim to build upon recent improvements to case investigation and contact tracing, rapid isolation and treatment, and engagement with EVDaffected communities in Guinea and Sierra Leone, while strengthening residual rapid response capacity in Liberia. WHO credits recent efforts in Guinea and Sierra Leone with a decrease in regional case incidence, which has remained below ten cases per week since late July.

DISCHARGED CASES

• Total Survived and Discharged Cases = 4,048

NEW CASES

• New Confirmed cases = 0 as follows:
  Kailahun = 0, Kenema = 0, Kono = 0
  Bombali = 0, Kambia = 0, Koinadugu = 0, Port Loko =0, Tonkolili = 0
  Bo = 0, Bonthe = 0, Moyamba = 0 Pujehun = 0
  Western Area Urban = 0, Western Area Rural = 0, Missing = 0

PROJECTED FOOD ASSISTANCE NEEDS FOR MARCH 2016

This brief summarizes FEWS NET’s most forward-looking analysis of projected emergency food assistance needs in FEWS NET coverage countries. The projected size of each country’s acutely food insecure population (IPC Phase 3 and higher) is compared to last year and the recent five-year average and categorized as Higher ( p), Similar ( u), or Lower ( q). Countries where external emergency food assistance needs are anticipated are identified. Projected lean season months highlighted in red indicate either an early start or an extension to the typical lean season. Additional information is provided for countries with large food insecure populations, an expectation of high severity, or where other key issues warrant additional discussion. Analytical confidence is lower in remote monitoring countries, denoted by “RM”. Visit www.fews.net for detailed country reports.

SG/SM/17118

SECRETARY-GENERAL PRESS RELEASE

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the high-level event, Securing a Healthy Future: Resilient Health Systems to Fight Epidemics and Ensure Healthy Lives, in New York today:

Exactly one year ago, more than 500 people were being newly diagnosed with Ebola each week in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Today, Liberia has been declared free of Ebola transmission. New Ebola cases have declined dramatically in Guinea and Sierra Leone as a result of decisive leadership and concerted action by national actors, with the support of regional and international partners.

These developments give us hope for the future, but we know we must remain vigilant and ready to respond to renewed outbreaks. We must continue to work in solidarity with Ebola-affected countries during their recovery, as we have done during the Ebola response. And we must do better when the next health crisis emerges.

I am grateful for the extraordinary support for the establishment of a High-Level Panel to examine the global response to health crises by the leaders here today. I appointed this Panel in April and have been impressed with the urgency and seriousness with which it has worked. I look forward to its report at the end of this year.

Human security depends on health security. We know the coming years will see unexpected new disease outbreaks. That is certain. We just do not know where, when and how they will strike.

Societies that proactively address these challenges, and engage with their health systems in the response, are at the heart of secure nations and a safer world. This requires predictable funding for accessible and effective health systems, and predictable support when a health emergency is suspected.

I am pleased by a number of regional and global initiatives to strengthen health systems. In June, G-7 [Group of Seven] leaders pledged to strengthen health systems and assist at least 60 countries with implementing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Health Regulations. I welcome the initiative to develop a road map for health system strengthening with clear thematic priorities. I also look forward to the outcomes of the G-7 Health Ministers Meeting in October.

The work of the World Bank, under the leadership of President Jim Yong Kim, has been pivotal throughout — including its efforts to develop a new Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility. In July, African Union health ministers adopted the Statute of the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also essential that the World Health Organization has the authority, resources and capacity to provide global leadership in times of health crises. I thank Dr. Margaret Chan for her critical efforts to reform WHO.

The launch of the Sustainable Development Goals is a timely reminder of the critical need to build strong basic health systems and community resilience. Success depends on being able to anticipate these outbreaks, to react quickly, to curtail its spread and to prevent suffering. I am confident that with the leadership here today — and the various initiatives discussed — we will have the imagination — and the political will — to build a truly transformative and lasting global architecture for a healthy future.

Thank you.

For information media. Not an official record.

Rome, Italy | AFP | Sunday 9/27/2015 - 10:14 GMT

Some 500 migrants were rescued in seven operations launched over the weekend in the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard said.

A spokesman told AFP on Sunday that four of the rescue operations had already wound up but the others were ongoing.

"Saturday was quiet on the whole but now there is further movement," he said. "We have had several interventions -- one by a ship belonging to (medical charity) MSF, two coastguard units as well as an Italian naval ship and a ship belonging to EU Navfor Med," he said.

The EU Navfor Med is a military operation launched at the end of June to identify, capture and dispose of vessels and rescue migrants undertaking risky journeys in a desperate bid to try and get to Europe from war-ravaged Syria and other trouble spots.

The mission is equipped with four ships, including an Italian aircraft carrier, and four planes. It is manned by 1,318 troops from 22 European countries.

A German frigate named Werra and an MSF (Doctors Without Borders) ship rescued 140 people from a giant dinghy on Saturday afternoon, according to an AFP photographer.

The migrants mainly came from the west African countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone and left Libya three days earlier. They were rescued about 80 kilometres off the Libyan coast.

EU leaders have agreed to boost aid for Syria's neighbours, including one billion dollars through UN agencies, in a bid to mitigate the refugee influx into Europe.

Some 500,000 people have come to Europe so far this year, the International Organization for Migration says, many of them taking perilous journeys across the Mediterranean on inflatable dinghies.

More than 2,800 people have died or disappeared making the crossing since January.

bur-ljm/ach/kjl

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sunday 9/27/2015 - 16:52 GMT

Sierra Leone began a second 42-day countdown to becoming Ebola-free on Sunday as it discharged its last two known patients and lifted its quarantine restrictions in the north, local health officials said.

"The last two Ebola patients were discharged from the Mathene Treatment Centre in the northern city of Makeni, after their tests proved negative," a statement from the Bombali District Ebola Response Centre said.

No details were given on the patients, but the statement added that around 1,500 people confined to their homes following outbreaks in the northern Bombali district and neighbouring Kambia had been released.

President Ernest Bai Koroma had hailed "the beginning of the end of Ebola in Sierra Leone" as Adama Sankoh, 34, was released from hospital in Makeni, the country's third-largest city, on August 24.

But hopes that the outbreak was beaten were dashed just days later when a 67-year-old woman died in Kambia, followed by a 16-year-old girl in Bombali two weeks later. 

The World Health Organization says a country can be declared Ebola-free 42 days after the last confirmed case has tested negative twice for the virus, once after each 21-day maximum incubation period.

The National Ebola Response Centre in Freetown welcomed the development, but issued a statement calling for a missing contact of an Ebola patient in Kambia, regarded as "high risk", to turn herself in.

"She is not a criminal but we want her to give herself up so that we can check her status," spokesman Sidi Yahya Tunis said of the woman, who disappeared 28 days ago.

Since first emerging in December 2013, the worst outbreak of Ebola in history has infected 28,000 people and left some 11,300 dead -- almost all in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

But with Liberia declared free of transmission, and Guinea recording just three cases in September, life is returning to normal in all three countries.

rmj/ft/jm

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

 DISCHARGED CASES

• Total Survived and Discharged Cases = 4,051
  

 NEW CASES

• New Confirmed cases = 0 as follows:
  Kailahun = 0, Kenema = 0, Kono = 0 Bombali = 0, Kambia = 0, Koinadugu = 0, Port Loko =0, Tonkolili = 0 Bo = 0, Bonthe = 0, Moyamba = 0 Pujehun = 0 Western Area Urban = 0, Western Area Rural = 0, Missing = 0

Sierra Leone: Flooding in Bo and Pujehun - Briefing Note – 23 September 2015

A Sierra Leone official said the government is cautiously optimistic the country will successfully complete a new 42-day countdown to be declared Ebola-free without any setback.

The country began the new countdown Saturday after discharging its last two known patients from the International Medical Corps Treatment Center in Kambia District.

Sierra Leone’s hopes of being declared Ebola-free were dashed last August when a 67-year-old woman died in Kambia days after it began the first 42-day countdown.

Abdulai Bayraytay, national publicity and outreach coordinator in the office of Sierra Leone’s government spokesman said the government is intensifying its appeal to the public not to compromise on the measures intended to contain the Ebola virus.

“We are very much cautiously optimistic that we will graduate into the 42-day without any relapse but we are intensifying – as a government and medical people -- that we must not compromise the medical measures that will contain Ebola for its eventual eradication,” he said.

He said Sierra Leone has now gone two days since Saturday into the 42-day countdown to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization.

“We discharged the last two patients from our treatment facility – that is International Medical Corps Treatment Center in Kambia District on Saturday, and since that day we are now two days,” Bayraytay said.

Bayraytay said the country is hopeful because no one out of the more than 700 people who have been quarantined in Bombali District has shown any symptoms of the Ebola virus.

“Since the incubation period for the disease is usually 21 days, so those people have now appreciated over 10 days into their quarantine period. And so far we are very lucky nobody has shown any symptoms for the virus,” Bayraytay said.

Highlights

• Beginning on 28 September, IOM-WHO-CDC will take part in a joint 9-day mobility mapping pilot exercise with over 30 participants focusing on category land border crossings in Kambia and seaports in Port Loko.

• IOM health screening and social mobilization staff will take part in a WHO psychological first aid training at Siaka Stevens Stadium on 28 September 2015.

• IOM IPC training staff conducted a 2 day training on Infection Prevention and Control for nurses at Atuga Stadium from 25-27 September.

• An IOM Camp Coordination and Camp Management specialist will deliver a 2-day training to key flood response personnel at the Office of National Security on October 1-2 ahead of a possible large scale population relocation for flood affected areas.

• A series of refresher trainings for community health monitors will be held in all 7 chiefdoms in Kambia district from 28 September to 7 October on the correct use of emergency interim care kits.

• IOM’s Director General will meet with the President of Sierra Leone at the United Nations General Assembly today in New York.

Thirty women groups attached to the Koinadugu Women Vegetable Farmers’ Cooperative benefited from high quality vegetable seeds of different varieties with support from FAO to enhance their production and depleted income.

The seed distribution which was done in Kabala Town, Koinadugu District in Northern Sierra Leone is part of FAO’s response to mitigate the adverse effect of the Ebola disease outbreak on the farming communities in the country, with the support of the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTF).

Movement restrictions, quarantine measures as well as ban on group activities and periodic markets temporarily imposed during the outbreak caused a major setback to the women farmers activities as most of their vegetable production got perished. This has directly affected their income and their ability to pay outstanding loans. In order to identify areas for support based on felt needs, a countrywide assessment was jointly undertaken by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture to ascertain the impact of the outbreak on Agriculture Business Centres (ABCs) activities.

Today, sixteen ABCs are currently supported by FAO to secure farming inputs and revamp their Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). The Koinadugu Women Vegetable Farmers’ Cooperative, which includes two ABCs, is part of them. Its members had suffered from the depletion of a revolving capital amounting SSL 153, 6 million, which was used to provide them with loans and supply farming inputs centers

The Cooperative is made of 30 women groups from 11 chiefdoms, with all members depending on vegetable farming for their livelihood and upkeep of their families. The Cooperative benefitted SSL 150 million from FAO to revamp their village savings and provide them with farming inputs. Each group benefited from four tins of desired vegetable seeds of different varieties including lettuce, cabbage, onion and tomato.

Distributing the seeds, Joseph Brima, Assistant FAO Representative, expressed delight over the resilience and unanimity of the women farmers throughout the outbreak. He reassured them of FAO’s commitment in ensuring that farmers recover from the loss they had experienced in particular on their savings and income. “FAO provided you this support at this moment because we realized that you cannot plant without seeds, and it is through farming that you meet your basic needs and educate your children.” he said.

He encouraged them to remain united, double their efforts and make sure that the seeds are used properly so that they can continue to make their living and play a key role in their communities.

Haja Sundu Marrah, Chairlady of the Koinadugu Cooperative, was relieved that such a gesture came at the time when they needed most, and especially because they were given the opportunity to buy the desired seeds well-adapted to local conditions. “Without these seeds none of us would have planted this season because it is very difficult to afford high quality seeds and most of us had used our revolving funds during the peak of the outbreak in the country.” she said. She assured FAO of a revamped energy among her membership to work harder and produce encouraging yield, and also multiply their capital.