Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Sierra Leone, affecting all areas of life. The Government declared a 12 month state of public health emergency and a ban on gatherings has been introduced; there has been one short lockdown and there are now discussions about holding a longer lockdown. Our partners on the epilepsy programme have stopped holding group epilepsy awareness-raising events and have been contributing towards raising awareness of COVID-19 and preventing transmission. Using megaphones and keeping a safe distance, the Epilepsy Support Workers are supporting the efforts of District Health Management Teams across the country.

Apart from the lack of ventilators in Sierra Leone, there are chronic shortages of much more basic supplies needed to slow the spread of the disease and treat people with the virus eg masks, oxygen and, even more fundamentally, soap and water. If you would like to support our efforts to purchase and ship certified visors to health workers, community workers and disabled people’s organisations in Sierra Leone, please consider making a donation here.

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