Africa helping Africa
Cameroonian specialists of ASCOVIME and the Sierra Leonean diaspora worked side by side, strengthening the Africa to Africa exchange.
The story
Strengthening Sierra Leone's health care after Ebola
Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora, touched painfully by the Ebola outbreak that left the country's health system with deep gaps, committed to helping restore life for the poor and vulnerable in Bo and other districts.
Led by Sierra Leonean born Josephine Garnem, a member of the Patcha Foundation board, the team arrived in Bo on 30 May 2016 together with ASCOVIME, the mission of Cameroonian surgeon Dr. Georges Bwelle. They targeted the outskirts of Bo, where farmers live and health needs are greatest.
A team of 24 surgeons, specialists and doctors, including gynecologists, a pediatrician, general surgeons and an anaesthetist nurse, registered, triaged and screened more than 2,000 people at the Bo Government Hospital, Gila's Children's Community Hospital and Paupers Clinic. Free consultations, examinations, medicines and surgeries were provided as needed.
Sierra Leone's Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation, Madam Madina Rahman, thanked the team on behalf of President Ernest Bai Koroma, noting the sacrifice of volunteers who paid their own flights and brought their own equipment and supplies, and the transfer of skills to local counterparts. A second program, for Bo, Pujehun, Mile 91 and Freetown, was planned for November 2016 with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Mercy Hospital, Praise Foundation, District Health Management Teams and Njala University.
