As a means of complying with the Performance Tracking Table (PTT) contract signed with the Government and to help spread the message of the deadly Ebola epidemic in the country, staff of the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority (SLRTA), yesterday benefited from Ebola and HIV/AIDS sensitization done by officials from the National HIV/AIDS Secretariat (NAS).
The sensitization exercise targets Senior Staff of SLRTA together with the Traffic Wardens that are responsible to ensure that vehicles and motor bikes comply with the road safety regulations and general traffic rules.
According to the Deputy Executive Director of SLRTA, Madam A.E.O. Pratt, the orientation is very vital and timely, considering the country’s present situation with regards to the outbreak, as Government is trying very hard to eradicate it, out of the country and for SLRTA to meet the deadline of the PTT period as the assessment will be done in December.
She maintained that with the type of work they are doing in relation to vehicle registration that exposes them to the public, one will agree that they are at high risk of contracting both viruses that are transmitted through fluids and Ebola which extends to body contact, explaining that they will continue to maintain road safety which is why they have been collaborating with other stakeholders like the Road Transport Corporation, the Sierra Leone Drivers Union, Indigenous Transport Owners and the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, as they succeeded in launching the operation, ‘No over loading’ as a way of reducing the transmission of the deadly Ebola virus.
The Deputy Executive Director, disclosed that they have also been going round the country, visiting schools and various communities in promoting road safety measures, adding that they believe through this Ebola and HIV/AIDS sensitization exercise the country will be in a better position to hammer down these diseases, as there are still people who do not believe in the existence of either of the disease especially the Ebola that is very dangerous, as it kills quickly.
Madam Pratt stated that before the outbreak of the Ebola disease, the country was in a situation where even President Ernest Bai Koroma believed was a time of enjoyment for every Sierra Leonean, as there were road construction going on throughout the country, but with the Ebola, everything is at a standstill even the pupils and the University students are still waiting for the reopening of Schools and Colleges to further their education.
Representing NAS at the sensitization exercise, Abu Bakarr Koroma, who did the Ebola sensitization stated that his Secretariat is also a signatory to the PTT as the 2011 HIV/AIDS Act makes it mandatory for the mainstreaming education on HIV/AIDS to all Ministries, Agencies and Department (MDAs) as everyone must be in a better position to speak about HIV/AIDS in his little home or community, which was why they decided to partner with SLRTA.
He maintained that because of the present situation in the country, they have decided to do sensitization of HIV/AIDS and Ebola for people to be aware that they are real as they can be contacted similarly through fluids except that HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through saliva while Ebola can be transmitted through all human fluids and even body contact.
The HIV/AIDS sensitization was done by Martha Kamara also from NAS, as she encouraged the participants to always use condom and avoid unprotected sex, and they should be doing tests to know their health status.
By Alhaji M. Kamara
Friday September 05, 2014