Sierra Leone is at risk of new epidemics akin to the impact of the Ebola virus due to lack of clean water and hygienic conditions in most homes. As the rains continue to pound the country, many homes that don’t have clean water rely on the rain water for survival and the coastal areas are suffering from the entire silts and dirt running down to these areas.
According to WaterAid, the two provisions were the “first line of defence” against infectious diseases but needed to be put into place before outbreaks began.
In Sierra Leone, more than 37% of people do not have access to clean water, the British-based group said in a statement. Most of these people live in slums that the government has deemed unfit for habitation.
When it comes to basic sanitation, WaterAid said the figures were even higher – 86.7% of people in Sierra Leone.
“The terrible suffering of the people of Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis is at high risk of being repeated in another disease epidemic if we do not see action to improve water, sanitation and hygiene practices in our communities, schools and healthcare facilities,”
WaterAid’s Joe Lambongang said in the statement.
“To ask healthcare professionals to battle an epidemic without clean water, safe toilets and somewhere to wash their hands is unrealistic and needlessly puts lives at risk,” he added.
According to Sierra Leone’s health ministry figures, 30% of the population dies every year of diseases passed on by contaminated water.
The World Health Organization declared an end on June 1 to Ebola cases in Guinea – where it first broke out in December 2013 – and in Sierra Leone on March 17.
Friday August 12, 2016
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