By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Kenema City and District councils together with the District Health Management Team and with support from the Integrated Health Project Administration Unit (IHPAU) have engaged chiefdom authorities in nine chiefdoms in the Kenema district on covid-19 vaccination activities.
Niawa, Dodo, Malegohun, Lower Bambara, Wandor, Gorama Mende, Nomo, Koya, Kandu- Leppiama, and Tunkia are the chiefdoms targeted for the first round. The remaining chiefdoms were captured on the second day of the community engagement.
Speaking at the meeting on 16th March 2022, the District Medical Officer Kenema Dr. Donald Samuel Grant said they are presently focusing on vaccinations and that most of the covid-19 vaccines are available in Sierra Leone despite the challenges. He said at the initial stage the vaccine was targeting 18 years and above but said it now captures people from 12 years and above, the reason why they now target schools.
Dr. Grant stated that currently, the entire country has vaccinated above 20.5% while their target is to hit 70% before December 2022, emphasising that the more people become vaccinated, the safer the country will become.
He said 23.5% of the population in Kenema have taken the first jab and that 13.1% have been fully vaccinated in the district which he referred to as a great achievement.
He disclosed that thirty-one thousand five hundred (31,500) people have been fully vaccinated for the first and second doses for Kenema district through support from the traditional leadership and other stakeholders in the 16 chiefdoms.
“As a district, we are top on the compliance rating of COVID vaccination,” Dr. Grant said.
He reiterated that the last vaccination was able to capture twenty-seven thousand six hundred and five (27,605,000) people in Kenema, noting that it had put the district on the map for cooperation and compliance with the government policy.
He called on the stakeholders to go back and encourage their people in their chiefdoms to take the covid vaccine as they are now focusing on chiefdoms within the district.
John Jabaty from the IHPAU explained how the project is funded by the World Bank to help the ministry of health carry out health-related activities.
“If the vaccine is not used, the donor will take their money back’’, he said
Jabaty stated that, when covid-19 hit Sierra Leone, World Bank disbursed 8.5 million dollars to buy vaccines for the country and said people should take the vaccines, a development that he believed will encourage the World Bank to help the country get more vaccines.
The Acting Mayor of Kenema City Council, Esther Kaisamba expressed delight at the turn out and suggested they take the Covid vaccination message back to their people to prevent them from contracting the virus.
The District Coordinator Covid-19 Kenema, Umaru Vandi Kondovoh, said there has been much improvement in fighting the disease through the help of vaccines which had made the government eased some measures on social and traditional practices.
Kondovoh said medical researchers have made it clear that covid will be living with humans and the only way to live with it carefully is by taking the vaccines which will help greatly to minimize the spread of the virus.
He commended the chiefs for the support given to the district covid management team in combating the virus through the enforcement of bye-law enforcement and urged the people to take the vaccine in their chiefdoms to help break the chain of transmission of the virus.
Copyright © 2022 Politico (21/03/22)
