Key Traditional Leaders enjoined leadership increased vaccination in the North

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson

Heightened efforts on response by traditional leaders and healers in the Northern region since the Government of Sierra Leone through the National Coronavirus Emergency Response Center (NaCOVERC) and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation initiated a nationwide 10-day vaccination surge has been reported by District Coronavirus Emergency Response Centers (DiCOVERCs), health workers and others interviewed by this writer to have been meaningful letting many people turned out for the vaccine. Civil Society and Human Rights Activist John Banato Sesay the Chairman of Citizens Rights (a Civil Society organization) when interviewed said Traditional Leaders and Healers have been supportive to both DiCOVERCs and the District Health Management Teams-(DHMTs) leading to the increase in the number of vaccinated persons. "I have noted the role of Traditional Leaders and Healers on awareness raising, taking leadership of the vaccine roll out to help kick against the possibilities of contacting COVID-19. I entreat fellow CSOs who are yet to take the vaccine to visit any of the mobile or static vaccination sites to take their own jabs for their safety as well as the good of the nation. I can confirm the safety of the vaccine because nothing has ever happen to me since I completed my does last June." He assured. Enjoined efforts from a traditional leader in Mambolo town in the Mambolo Chiefdom of Kambia District, Northern-Western Sierra Leone was widely commended by response supervisors following mass turn out by residents of the costal chiefdom that responded and took their vaccines at the vaccination site stationed at the their Paramount chief’s compound following public education messages received from social mobilization that were moving around canvassing people to take the vaccine for their safety and the good of the country as well as to keep them off from getting infected by others that will lead to eventual hospitalization and death. In Makeni city, Bombali district, North-Eastern Sierra Leone the traditional leaders focal person Pa. Alhaji Ibrahim Sheriff was also seen among a team of social mobilization staff from the District Coronavirus Emergency Response Center encouraging people to come out and take the vaccines while assuring them about the vaccine safety, condemning earlier believe of most people that the vaccine has some negative after effect when taken will lead to illness and eventual loss of life to be false. Pa. Sheriff said he has taken his first and second dose of the Zynopharm vaccine together with all the Paramount Chiefs of Bombali District since March. “As traditional healers we're also front line workers and by extension the unofficial deputies of the trained, qualified and certified Medical Doctors, he told Awoko. “Since I took both jabs of the vaccine nothing bad has ever happened to me or any of the Paramount chiefs in the Bombali district we got vaccinated on the same dates. This is why I’m very confident to say the vaccines are safe and to prove that were are also ready we've enjoined efforts with our district health experts, and partners of the Government of Sierra Leone to socially mobilize our people at various towns and remote villages where mobile vaccination sites have been set up to get them vaccinated. “Our position during public health emergency in our country as traditional healers is to listen and abide by the directives of the Medical Doctors and not to take for granted public misinformation, disinformation, myths and fake news transported on social media. I’ve already instructed all traditional healers in the district to stop admitting sick people but to refer them promptly to health centers where they will be diagnosed and treated in other to mitigate possible spread of the virus unknowingly,” he explained. According to the Kambia District Health Management Officer Dr. Joseph Sylvanus Kamara during a Friday, August 27, 2021 briefing held at the premises of DiCOVERC Kambia celebrated the increased in the number of vaccination sites from the initial four to nineteen mobile and static sites in the districts, says it boosting public turn outs to get their jabs, will help them to hit their daily targets of 900. The Executive Support Officer attached at the Kambia District Emergency Response Center Patrick Bangura said the 10-day nationwide flow of vaccination will continue for till the 3rd September, 2021 in Kambia district because they have been busy for two days with the arrangements of vaccination sites at all chiefdoms to increase in the number of vaccinated persons in the district amidst the wide spread of fake news, misinformation and myths on the Corona virus vaccines but assured that they have unanimously set up robust mobilization teams consisting of DiCOVERC mobilization staff, health experts and key traditional stakeholder to get people to take their vaccines in the district which was the second to last district in Sierra Leone to record a positive COVID-19 case. “We had recorded only 34 positive COVID-19 cases with no quarantine home presently since the plague touched bass and with supports from government and non-governmental organization in the district we have embarked on massive public education in the district," he remarked. On the national 10-day vaccination flow, the NaCOVERC spokesman Solomon Jamiru said the statistics are encouraging so far but stressed that the target of 360,000 vaccinations should be worked towards by all parties. “He reassured that the vaccines are safe and efficacious, confirmed that nobody has ever died after taking the vaccine, advised that negative messages on the coronavirus vaccines which has been hampering earlier the vaccine roll out must be ignored by the general public to ensure the nation’s safety, warned that Sierra Leoneans do their best to obey government and health partners regulation and advice to help curb the third wave and prevent experiencing a fourth way of the plague as some countries have started experiencing the fourth wave." Meanwhile, Social mobilization teams in all districts of the Northern Region namely Kambia, Bombali, Falaba, Karene, Koinadugu, Tonkolili and Port Loko have been moving across towns and villages in the respective districts and cumulative numbers of persons vaccinated per district during the nationwide 10-day vaccination surge as of August 29, 2021 are: 9,982 (Port Loko), 11,706 (Kambia), 12,284 (Koinadugu), 6,418(Falaba), 7,782(Karene), 11,242 (Bombali) and 5,896 (Tonkolili).