June 12, 2015 By Mohamed Massaquoi
A group of civil society organizations referred to as the ‘CSO Platform on Accountability on Ebola Funds’ has commended staff of the 34 Military Hospital for their relentless efforts and commitment in fighting the deadly Ebola Viral Disease in the country.
The group, with funding from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), recently embarked on extensive consultations at district and national level to examine Ebola responses by various organizations across the country.
A member of the platform, Alhaji Mohamed Warisay, said they were extremely impressed with the performance of the 34 Military Hospital as they are running a free medical clinic for Ebola survivors, noting that it was an extemporary intervention that should be implemented by other health service providers.
“While the platform applauds interventions by various organizations providing immediate needs such as food and clothing to Ebola survivors, sustainability of these services are absolutely critical for the welfare of survivors,” said Mr. Warisay. “We want to specially thank the 34 Ministry Hospital for providing free medical facilities to Ebola survivors.”
It could be recalled that at the height of the Ebola pandemic in the country, the United States Embassy in Freetown donated close to US$1 million worth of assorted medical equipment to the hospital to fight the Ebola virus.
The equipment – in two containers of 20ft and 40ft each – was presented by the Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Kathleen FitzGibbon, as part of the “Project CURE”, which is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Defence (DOD).
Commanding Officer of the Joint Medical Unit, Col. Dr. Foday Sahr, said all the heads of his department were tasked with the responsibility to list down their needs which were compiled, thus culminating in the supplied items.
“The DOD sent a team down here to do an assessment of our needs, which just shows how committed they are to the military. We are pleased for this development and we will continue the good work,” he concluded.