By Mustapha Kamara
A local non-governmental organisation in Sierra Leone has expressed concern over the rising numbers of children in quarantined homes, saying “very little attention is being given to them”.
Abdulai Swaray, executive director for Pekin to Pekin, Friday told journalists in Freetown that they had officially pleaded with the government to pay more attention to those children in quarantined homes across the country.
“There is no quarantined home in the country where one cannot find a child...yet less attention is being paid to their welfare and general wellbeing,” he said.
He explained that they were particularly concerned about the high numbers of children affected by the deadly virus, adding that children were left out anytime quarantined people were supplied with food items. He said the young ones should always be considered because they were more vulnerable than adults.
He noted that government should provide children caught behind quarantined lines with medical facilities, “because they could be in danger as they are open to diseases like malaria, high fever, diarrhoea and the like due to reduced food nutrients in their systems”. He said that would lead to weakness in their immune systems - bad for the health of any child.
Swaray said he had made many pleas to the government, civil society, and the international community to turn a special lens on Ebola-affected children in Sierra Leone.
(C) Politico 09/09/14
