Contrary to rumours circulating on social media and a handful of local press houses that the contract to feed patients at the treatment centre in Kenema was given on the pretext that the person in question was a close associate of the President’s sister Admire Koroma was not only misguided and unfounded, but also a calculated attempt to smear the hard earned reputation of the President’s sister and to further derail the tremendous effort exerted on the case management at the treatment centre in Kenema.
It will be noteworthy to succinctly state that the lady contracted to do the supplies has no connection whatsoever with Admire Koroma and just to put the record straight, the Lady in question has been the supplier prior to President Koroma’s assumption to office in 2007. The lady (Madam Isha Jalloh) has been working with the previous SLPP government and sustaining the contract or awarding the contract to her has nothing to do with her relationship with President Koroma’s sister. This clearly explains that the issue of rumour-mongering and the spate at which spurious comments splattering across social media on an issue like this can only be described as a blatant disregard for the truth and a ploy to discredit the enormous efforts of the government to salvaging the current Ebola outbreak.
At a crucial moment like this when the country is faced with a common enemy, it is imperative on all Sierra Leoneans to bolster their efforts to combating this epidemic. This, to a larger extent has been demonstrated in government’s strides to engender and garner the required support as a way of enhancing resources both within and without to eradicate this virus. It is no gainsaying that the increased number of discharged survivor cases is largely dependent on the quality treatment and food given to the patients at the treatment centres that helped them immensely to resuscitate their immune system. This cannot be shelved in the cupboards as this is one of the many testaments of government’s frantic efforts contain this outbreak.
Against this backdrop, government being aware of the resources and services at the treatment centres continues to encourage the sick to report to the hospitals to increase their chances of survival. To put the argument into perspective, the Kenema treatment centre being the initial treatment centre with a laboratory has been given a considerable amount of attention than any of the other centres. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation through the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been able to enhance an effective service delivery at the treatment centres by making sure that the patients are fed three times a day. The result is obvious as we are seeing an up in the number of discharged cases at the treatment centres. Therefore, such insipid rumour is contrary to the national clamour of containing this virus.
Sierra Leoneans across the world have felt the heat of this outbreak. The consequences are glaring and we cannot continue to be in this state. As always said by President Koroma that this is a national fight and it behooves a collective national approach to win this fight. It is sickening when national issues are trivialized and meddle with petty politics to score cheap political goals. We must desist from this negativism and move away from sandwiching national issues with politics as this is not an envisage reality of any well meaning Sierra Leonean.
The government will continue to exert more efforts to containing the spread of the virus. The President on several occasions had registered his continued commitment in the fight against the Ebola virus. The construction of new treatment centres across the country and the provision of food supplies in the various centres, the procurement of additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), enhanced logistical support and encouraging incentives to health workers to name a few are a illustrative of that commitment. We are a resilient nation and we must win this fight.
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