Media Home
UN Web TV
UN PhotoUnifeed
SIERRA LEONE / EBOLA CARE CENTERS
STORY: SIERRA LEONE / EBOLA CARE CENTERS
TRT: 01:33
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 12 NOVEMBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT
7 NOVEMBER 2014, BOMBALI DISTRICT, SIERRA LEONE
1. Various shots, construction of Ebola care center
12 NOVEMBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Salama, UNICEF Chief of Health:
“So the community care centers, there basically taking the concept that we need to offer support and treatment and isolation to the victims of Ebola. They are really saying, ok, lets try and decentralize that care as close to where people are living as possible, so it’s really taking supportive care and those protocols and pushing them out to the most rural and marginal parts of the country.”
7 NOVEMBER 2014 MAKENI, BOMBALI DISTRICT, SIERRA LEONE
3.Various shots, training o how to put on protective gear
12 NOVEMBER 2014, NEW YORK CITY
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Salama, UNICEF Chief of Health:
“If we do this right and we do this well we will have mobilized community health workers, MCH aids, communities themselves will be fully engaged in the behavioural aspects of their own healthcare and of course what I’m just describing are the building blocks for a successful primary health care.”
7 NOVEMBER 2014 MAKENI, BOMBALI DISTRICT, SIERRA LEONE
5. Med shot, health workers walking outside
6. Wide shot, health workers walking
To help fight the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, UNICEF has started the construction of Ebola community care centers in Bombali, one of the districts worst hit by the current Ebola outbreak which has so far killed more than 1,000 people in Sierra Leone.
The centers will have 8 beds each and will be run by the Government of Sierra Leone through their District Health Management Team, with local non-governmental organization World Hope International providing training, monitoring and social mobilization support.
Peter Salama, UNICEF Chief of Health explained the advantages of small Ebola community care centers over centralized large facilities.
SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Salama, UNICEF Chief of Health:
“So the community care centers, there basically taking the concept that we need to offer support and treatment and isolation to the victims of Ebola. They are really saying, ok, lets try and decentralize that care as close to where people are living as possible, so it’s really taking supportive care and those protocols and pushing them out to the most rural and marginal parts of the country.”
Construction followed extensive consultation with local authorities and traditional leaders to make sure they are an accepted and integrated part of local communities. As well as providing basic care and isolation, these will also serve as focal points for safe and dignified burials and activities to raise awareness among communities.
SOUNDBITE (English) Peter Salama, UNICEF Chief of Health:
“If we do this right and we do this well we will have mobilized community health workers, MCH aids, communities themselves will be fully engaged in the behavioural aspects of their own healthcare and of course what I’m just describing are the building blocks for a successful primary health care.”
UNICEF is providing the tents, tarpaulins and construction materials to build the centres, along with the day-to-day supplies needed to keep health workers safe from infection and provide patients with supportive treatment. Funding was provided by the UK Department for International Development.
UNICEF is planning to build around 30 more centers in neighboring districts in the coming weeks.
Download
There is no media available to download.
