Sierra Leone launched a nationwide Ebola vaccination campaign on Thursday, a decade after the country was devastated by the deadliest outbreak of the virus in history.
The 2014 Ebola epidemic, which primarily affected West Africa, claimed nearly 4,000 lives in Sierra Leone, part of a larger death toll of more than 11,000 across the region. The outbreak also led to the loss of 7% of Sierra Leone’s healthcare workforce.
The new vaccination campaign, a collaboration between the Sierra Leone government, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the global vaccine alliance Gavi, targets frontline workers at high risk of exposure to the virus. Health authorities said 20,000 frontline workers, including healthcare professionals, police officers, military personnel, and traditional healers, will be prioritized.
Cynthia Reffell, a health worker in Sierra Leone, emphasized that the goal is to protect those most vulnerable to the virus.
“We are targeting healthcare workers and front-line workers like the police, military officers, and traditional healers,” she said. “If one person is affected, every other person will be affected. This is a preventive measure.”
Sierra Leone was one of the countries hardest hit by the 2014 outbreak, which began in Guinea and spread to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. At the time, there was no approved vaccine, but advancements in vaccine development have since led to the approval of a single-dose Ebola vaccine.
Darlington Coker, a traditional healer, urged communities to trust the vaccine. “It is our responsibility to encourage communities to take the vaccines, which are not harmful,” he said.
Although the last Ebola case in Guinea was recorded three years ago, experts have warned of ongoing risks in regions where the virus remains endemic.
The new vaccination campaign aims to boost preparedness and prevent future outbreaks, as health authorities remain vigilant in the fight against Ebola.
