By: Mohamed M. Sesay
During the stakeholder’s engagement meeting at the Country Lodge on the 2021-2022 vaccination support project, the Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Austin Demby yesterday the 17th of August 2022, assured International Partners, Civil Society Activists and a galaxy of journalists that his Ministry is targeting to vaccinate 70% of Sierra Leoneans on or before December 2022.
In his statement, the Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Austin Demby continued that since the commencement of the Covid-19 vaccination in Sierra Leone in March 2020, a total of 2,170,329 individuals have been fully vaccinated. He added that such vaccination represents about 38.7% of the entire population. He considered such tremendous progress towards international targets.
Dr. Demby however, noted that there is still a significant gap as they need to protect the entire population through Covid-19 preventive measures as the country moves toward the new normal.
He furthered that the Covid-19 virus is not just a health issue but rather something that has to do with a joint effort from Health workers, social workers, religious leaders, Civil Society Activists and the media. He, therefore, encouraged the abovementioned players to come together as a unified body in the fight against Covid-19. He maintained that the Covid-19 messages intended for the public about vaccination should be credible and reliable.
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mustapha Kabba also intimated that they have conducted nationwide engagement in all their hospital facilities across the country. He added that all of their facilities are empty at the moment as there are no patients admitted into various hospitals across the country.
He further that the quality information they have been sending out to the people, aided them to vaccinate over 38% of the total population in the country. He added that they are still advocating for the general public to come on board to receive their vaccine.
The Health Coordinator for Concern Worldwide, Saran Cundy, said that since September 2021, Concern Worldwide has been supporting the MoHS in the 16 Districts of Sierra Leone. She expressed that their focus has been to ensure all Sierra Leoneans have access to Covid-19 vaccination. She added that their vaccination drive has also been targeted at hard-to-reach communities through mobile vaccination teams.
“ECHO as our donor has looked beyond the tarmac providing flexible funding which adapts listen to the needs of communities allowing MoHS through mobile vaccination” She maintained.
