Opinion
It is indeed sad that we have lost yet another medical doctor, Dr.Olivette Buck, to the dreaded Ebola virus disease. She is the fourth Sierra Leonean doctor to be taken away by the disease, thus severely reducing the number of medics in this fight and scaring away a lot of nurses who used to look up to her for guidance and motivation. May her soul rest in peace.
One thing that has shocked Sierra Leoneans and friends of Sierra Leone at home and abroad is the allegation that WHO rejected a request from the government of Sierra Leone to fly out the deceased to Hamburg in Germany for treatment. Government should now learn from this and do something immediately to prevent this kind of disaster in the future.That will not bring back Dr. Buck and others but will prevent future occurrences. Here are my suggestions:
1. A special fund should be created to charter a plane immediately to fly out to the West doctors and nurses infected by the virus. Nurses and doctors will be injected with enormous courage and fortitude if they see their colleagues hit by the disease being flown out of the country for medical treatment. They will know the government is there to back them up any time. Fighting ebola is like fighting a real war; the only difference is there are no bullets flying around. Soldiers in a conventional war will fight enthusiastically if they know their commanders and government are watching their backs, ready to step in any moment to help save their lives.
2. Arrangements should be made with hospitals and clinics in the West willing and ready to accept ebola patients from Sierra Leone. We have seen it happen in the US and the UK where doctors infected by EVD from West Africa have been successfully treated. Such arrangements are very important; not all hospitals and clinics in the West will be willing to treat ebola patients from Africa.
3. Funds should be allocated on standby to purchase anti-ebola vaccines whenever they are available. We should not wait until they are available to scramble for funds. Newspaper reports say a vaccine or vaccines will be on the market by the end of the year.
4. The re-opening of schools, colleges and universities should be postponed until there is some improvement in the elimination of the disease. This means school/college/university academic calendars will have to be drastically adjusted whenever they reopen with no vacations for the rest of the academic year.
5. Finally, we should continue to work with and cooperate with the WHO and other international organizations but should come up with our own ideas, strategies and tactics in the fight against this dreadful disease.
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