Entrance to our newest partner facility, Rokupa Government Hospital
We've been busy working during the Ebola outbreak. Our work has been addressing four key areas.
First, we have been supporting the Children’s hospital to ensure that the patients and staff are safe and routine services continue. We have achieved this by holding focus group discussions, providing focused training to hospital staff, both clinical and non-clinical, and procuring a back up supply of personal protective equipment that can be used by hospital staff to ensure their safety.
Additionally, we have been supporting the 20-bed holding (isolation) unit at the Children’s hospital through a DFID funded project since November 2014. This includes connecting the holding unit to the generator to assure uninterrupted power 24 hours a day, setting up an office for the surveillance team and providing the team with ongoing support, helping with coordination of laboratory results, purchasing essential items and providing discharge clothing and transportation money to the children and their caregivers, who've been admitted in the holding unit. This is because they need to leave behind all of their personal belongings when they leave the unit, anything taken into the unit cannot come out and must be burned.
Thirdly, we have been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other organisations to develop a national hospital Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Programme. This will include training of all hospital staff in infection prevention and control, facilitating water and sanitation improvements in facilities as well as providing ongoing mentorship to national staff to ensure that IPC is implemented in the hospitals. We will support this project in three hospitals in Sierra Leone – at the Ola During Children’s Hospital, the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital and Rokupa Government Hospital.
Finally, we've been working beyond the hospital by addressing urgent needs in the local community. For example, a lack of clean water and taps have hampered efforts to control the virus. New taps are currently being constructed in several communities to improve the water supply in those areas.
As we look to the future, we're making plans to expand our work in the local community, to increase support, give advice and educate about certain practices that continue to hamper the efforts to control the virus. We're also welcoming new people to the team to help meet the current needs and to support our new projects!
During the outbreak we've managed to remain flexible and responsive to the needs in Sierra Leone, thanks to our team on the ground and the speed and generosity of our supporters. We appreciate everyone's efforts.
With cases of Ebola declining, the government's current ‘Getting to Zero’ campaign and exciting projects on the horizon, we are optimistic about the future in Sierra Leone and restoring health care there. We hope you'll continue to be a part of our work.
For an opportunity to help us expand our support through a special matched giving opportunity this month please read the post about the Global Giving campaign. Global Giving will be hosting a matching campaign to support our Ebola-project efforts. Starting April 1st at 00:01 EST, donations to our Global Giving project will be matched 100% until funds last. This campaign is occurring on both the USA site, and the UK site depending on where you are.
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