Ebola's Gone but Sierra Leone's Health System Is on Its Knees

Published by Heenali Patel

9 May, 2016

The rows of white tents that used to house patients at the Ebola Treatment Centre in the Moyamba District of Sierra Leone have been disinfected and taken away, and the smell of smoke and chlorine that once filled the dusty air has faded.

This time last year, the centre was on the frontline of the fight against Ebola. At the weekend the country marked six months since it was declared free of the virus, thanks in part to the team of medics who worked here at the height of the epidemic. But while the threat of Ebola has diminished, a new, bigger public health emergency has silently erupted.

Years of underinvestment coupled with the diversion of resources to tackle Ebola have tipped Sierra Leone's health system into a state of crisis. At the Moyamba District Hospital, incubators for newborn babies, essential medical drugs, surgical equipment and even, at times, electricity, are all in short supply. Most worryingly of all, the reserves of trust between communities and healthcare services are drying up fast.

see more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/heenali-patel/ebola-sierra-leone_b_9868004.html