SierraLeone is once again facing a public health emergency, this time in the form of an escalating outbreak of Mpox. As of the most recent official report, over 3,350 cases have been confirmed across the country, including 16 deaths and more than 1,500 recoveries. Alarmingly, nearly half of all Mpox cases in Africa are concentrated in Sierra Leone. Yet, in the face of this growing health crisis, the government appears more preoccupied with political manoeuvring than safeguarding the health of its citizens.
Instead of focusing all available resources and attention on controlling the spread of Mpox, the authorities have embarked on a questionable administrative expansion creating two additional districts in the country. This move, widely perceived as an attempt to consolidate political power ahead of future elections, sends the wrong message to a population in urgent need of leadership, clarity, and protection.
We have been here before. The painful memories of #Ebola and the global #COVID19 #pandemic are still fresh. Thousands died, economies collapsed, and trust in government institutions plummeted. But one would have hoped that those dark chapters would at least have left us with invaluable lessons: the need for early intervention, transparent communication, robust surveillance, and above all, a national focus on saving lives. Sadly, it seems we are once again squandering the opportunity to learn from history.
To the government’s credit, a few commendable steps have been taken. A 400-bed Mpox treatment centre has been opened in Freetown, and nearly 43,000 frontline health workers have been vaccinated. Twenty thousand additional vaccine doses are reportedly on the way. These are positive developments, but they are not nearly enough. With the disease continuing to spread across the country and healthcare systems already under strain, the situation demands a full-scale national emergency response, not half-measures diluted by political distractions.
The Deputy Health Minister has called on the international community for support. While external aid is welcome and necessary, it must be complemented by an unwavering internal political will to prioritise public health. This is not a time for political gerrymandering. It is a time for leadership, accountability, and action.
What Sierra Leone needs now is not more districts or political appointments, but a unified, transparent, and coordinated public health strategy. It needs credible messaging that encourages behaviour change, mass education campaigns that reach even the most remote areas, sufficient funding for treatment centres and personal protective equipment, and immediate logistical support for vaccination drives.
Our failure to act decisively risks not only deepening the public health crisis but also eroding public trust in government—a trust that has already been tested time and again. If we are to regain our footing and protect the lives of our citizens, we must act now and act together.
Let the tragedy of lives already lost be the wake-up call we cannot afford to ignore.
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