The UN World Health Organisation and the UN children's fund, UNICEF say the situation of the cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone is “still critical”. They say as at 3 September 2012, 15,838 cases had been reported with 251 deaths, recording a fatality rate of 1.6%.
Quoting daily reports, the UN agencies say the districts that reported the highest number of cases include Western Area (169), Bombali (18) and Kenema (18). There is improvement in data collection from all districts, they say, adding that in the Western Area, over 79% of facilities report daily.
As part of strategy to strengthen capacity for case management a total of 929 health workers from nine districts have been trained by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation with technical support from WHO. A training on collection of specimen and laboratory testing for cholera confirmation and monitoring is planned for next week, according to the UN agencies.
Meanwhile, a one-day training for radio and print journalists was held yesterday at the ministry of health in Freetown. They agreed to improve their coverage of the epidemic and increase campaigns on prevention and control.
