By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Leaders of protesting Ebola survivors, who converged before state house in in Freetown, have told Politico that President Ernest Bai Koroma has promised to release some Le1.9 billion it has set aside to address their growing concerns.
Yusuf Kabba, leader of the survivors, said government officials whom they met with at State House, had agreed to make available the said money as early as this month.
“When distributed, each survivor can get Le565, 000. Even though it is not enough, but it will help,” Kabba said, adding that “we complained to State House officials about how badly stigmatisation cases are treated by the police, and the police boss has been alerted to that.”
Late last year the government said in addition to that amount of money, which would be paid in cash to help with their problem of livelihood, survivors would also be provided with psychosocial support.
On Monday hundreds of Ebola survivors staged a protest in front of State House, claiming that they had chosen to take to the streets over many issues that had bother them over the years.
Leaders of the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors (SLAES), which coordinated the protests, said they had organised a nationwide demonstration to bring pressure to bear on the authorities.
In Freetown the protesters marched along State Avenue, the entrance to State House. Five of their leaders were later taken inside the State House to talk with President Ernest Bai Koroma. After the meeting the leader of the survivors, Yusuf Kabba, said he was happy with the outcome.
“Most of the concerns we raised were addressed and the implementation will start as soon as this April,” Kabba told his fellow survivors who waited for hours during the prolonged meeting with the President.
Kabba said they had three issues that they advocated for - livelihood, treatment for medical complications and stigmatisation.
The survivors said the government ministries that had been assigned to take care of their needs had not done so. The free healthcare promised by the president himself, psycho-social counseling and capacity building, were among the many services the survivors said they should be benefitting from.
Many survivors had complained about health complications they faced since they left treatment centers, including persistent headache and eye related problems.
Yusuf Turay, a 9-year old survivor, was at the protest with his mother, Yeami Conteh. Conteh said her son was having persistent eye problem since he recovered from the disease and she couldn’t afford a care for him.
“The free healthcare that was promised to survivors is not true. I have to spend money to get treatment for my child,” the woman told Politico. Yusuf stands to lose his sight if he does not get the right treatment.
The Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children’s Affairs (MSWGCA) and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) are the two leading ministries that are responsible for the Ebola survivors.
SLAES members have accused MSWGCA of stalling the process of paying their money since January 2016. The MoHS has also been accused of not providing the free healthcare that the government had promised for survivors.
There are additional concerns, including children like Yusuf dropping out of school because of poverty.
Yeami Conteh said she was receiving support from an NGO group- Caritas Freetown for her sons.
“I was receiving support from Caritas but that has stopped more than five months now,” she said.
The Ebola virus robbed many children of their parents and guardians and, according to Santigie Bangura, Education Officer for SLAES this has put a burden on the shoulders of the association.
Bangura told Politico: “We have to support these kids to go to school through our own financial contribution. Only few children were helped by other organizations.”
With the recent sacking of the heads of the MSWGCA and the ongoing transition at the ministry, it is not clear how these plans will be implemented.
However, Kabba said he was convinced that the transition process would not affect the plans that they had agreed on during Monday’s meeting at State House.
“I don’t think the transition should affect these plans. I expect all the plans with the former minister to have been documented,” he said.
The 2014 Ebola epidemic claimed the lives of over 4000 people in Sierra Leone. SLAES says it has on record 4, 052 survivors across the country, many of whom are women and children.
A State House communication issued late yesterday said the issues raised by the leadership of S.L.A.E.S, officials of M.S.W.G.C.A had been noted, adding that the delays in payment of the livelihood support was due to the need for a thorough verification of the list of beneficiaries and establishment of modalities for effecting payments. The ministry informed the leadership of S.L.A.E.S of the availability of the funds, and its willingness to pay the beneficiaries immediately.
“On the provision of healthcare, the meeting agreed that all health facilities should provide free healthcare for all Ebola survivors, as well as all vulnerable categories covered by the free health care initiative” the release stated.
It said that officials of the MOHS had agreed that they would direct all district medical officers to ensure that they provide free health care for all Ebola survivors, including specialised eye care.
“In addition, the ministry has revised its essential drugs list, to include those used to treat unique post-Ebola complications, for which the procurement process has already been completed. S.L.A.E.S was also encouraged to report all healthcare workers who deprive its members of free healthcare, so that stringent disciplinary measures can be taken against them”.
(C) Politico 05/04/16
