The Suspension of the Periodic General Cleaning Exercise In Sierra Leone and its Possible Public Health Implications

~ By Amadu Wurie Jalloh

Sierra Leone and its West African counterparts are fraught with several public health related issues that literally deserve the same urgency of treatment as Coronavirus, and one of which is environment health management crises.

But just how serious is environmental health management a problem globally?

Globally, an estimated 12.6 million people die annually because of poor environmental health related issues, which is almost 1/4th of all global deaths per year (World Health Organization, 15th March, 2016).  Demographically, the WHO (Supra) emphasized that young children (under 5) and older people (between the age of 50 and 70) are affected the most by environmental risks with an estimated 1.7 million deaths and 4.9 million deaths, respectively. And geographically, the phenomena takes its greatest toll on low and middle income countries (mostly South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions). Environmental health related complications accounts for 2.2 million deaths in the African Region. Cardiovascular diseases and ischemic heart diseases are the major causes of environmental health related deaths. And the indiscriminate and irresponsible disposal of waste is one among the many causes of this crises globally.

According to Godfrey et al. (24th July, 2019), in other to achieve the SDGs 2030, environmental and public health provisions encompassing sustainable waste management approaches should be given the serious political attention it deserve. As at 2012, Municipal Africa generates an estimated 125 million tonnes of solid waste (MSW) annually-- sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 81 million tonnes (65%). The situation is expected to aggravate by 2025 to 224 million tonnes annually. Unfortunately, only 55% (68 million tonnes) of waste is collected. MSW collection in sub-Saharan Africa only averaged 44%. The remainder of our municipal solid waste could be found in our streets, parking lots, sidewalks, drainage facilities, open fields and rivers as pollutants. Also, it's not all collected waste could end up being recycled or put into some other use. In fact, only 4% of generated MSW end up being recycled-- we have marginalized informal peekes and reclaimers to mostly thank for that.

Sierra Leone is seriously challenged with solid waste management, water, sanitation, and hygiene problems. Blinker (2006) argues that only a small fraction of solid waste is collected in Sierra Leone, with up to 90% of Sierra Freetown's residents relying on on-site sanitation with serious overflowing constraints during the rainy season. The country experiences flooding almost every year, causing serious damages to properties and deaths among many Urban settlers (especially informal settlements). The August 2017 mudslide (partly caused by heavier precipitation level and land-cover loss) and flash flood (partly caused by poor drainage system/blockage to accommodate the change in magnitude water flow) could claim the lives of over 300 people in the outskirt of Freetown. The increase in heavy precipitation during the rainy season (largely due to climate change) is largely unprecedented for, the infrastructure in urban settlements are not well planned to contain the new wave of heavy waters surging from the hilltops and from the mostly tightly arranged/fitted structures in its Urban centers forming from the periphery. 

It was on this backdrop that the government reinstated the monthly general cleaning across the country. The central Government of Sierra Leone spends 3.9 billion Leones every month to keep the project going. The money is distributed among local council authorities with the aim of keeping the urban communities clean and healthy. It's hoped that the cleaning exercise will help avert or mitigate the effect of environmental health challenges. The result are obviously impressive. The country experienced less flooding and environmentally related catastrophes in 2019.

Meanwhile, due to the economic impact created by Covid-19 and the urgent need to redirect funding to the fight against Covid-19, the government of Sierra Leone has since April, 2020 suspended funding to local council to continue the monthly cleaning exercise. But this move will likely have serious health implications if not reinstated, especially so when the rainy season is about to start now.

Less than 40 percent of Sierra Leoneans have access to clean drinking water. Waterborne diseases and hygiene related crises such typhoid, diarrhea, and malaria are some of the leading causes of deaths in the country. The cut off of funding to continue the monthly cleaning exercise means more wastes (especially solid waste) are going to be accumulated in open fields, drainage systems and other spots in communities. This will create a breeding grounds for mosquitoes and accelerate the rate of mosquito bite and malaria. The situation would also threaten to encourage houseflies multiplication and the spread of typhoid and elephantiasis diseases. To make matters worst, as we approach the rainy season, with the recent increase in heavy precipitation caused by climate change, the untended gutters and general drainage facilities would expose communities to flooding and other environmental health crises. The rains will also transport all poisonous substances to community Wells and water sources where most people rely on to fetch drinkable water from.

Given the country's environmental profile (Sierra Leone lists as third country mostly prone to the effect of global warming), the government should hurriedly resume its usual cleaning exercise before the rains increase to avert possible public health crises. We should be expecting heavier rain fall in the ensuing years. Hence, the gutters should be cleared now, landfills be emptied taking the waste to appropriate sites,  and waste collected and dumped at the various appropriate sites across the country be recycled to prevent cholera, malaria, diarrhea, and other hygiene related crises. Though an expensive exercise (given the time), we cannot risk putting this nation into another yet horrific Public health crises when we can prevent their occurrences.

There is no way we can tackle Covid-19 as a public health crises without considering other equally worrisome health risks in the country and the subregion. Government needs to ensure the programme resumes soonest before the rains get bigger (as they already have started coming). The need for clean water supply in the fight against all public health crises can't be overemphasized here. To cut down the tonnes of plastic waste accross the country and reduce the burdens of clearing gutters and collecting solid waste, SALWACO should be empowered. Households should have access to clean drinking water through their taps, and they will eventually reduce buying plasticised filtered water. This can help save lives and government funding.

Photo credit: Freetown City Council

©17/05/2020
®The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation
® Students Analysts and Writers Network

References:

https://sierraexpressmedia.com/?p=87478

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/15-03-2016-an-estimated-12-6-million-deaths-each-year-are-attributable-to-unhealthy-environments

https://standardtimespress.org/?p=8290

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190930214511.htm

https://www.intechopen.com/online-first/solid-waste-management-in-africa-governance-failure-or-development-opportunity

Political Fascism and Patriotism: Civilizational Malapropism

We have a problem in Sierra Leone. A so huge a problem that if not addressed urgently, we shall  never, I repeat: we shall never progress as a country. This problem has established itself in almost all spheres of life in society, and we don't want to talk about it, or (better) still we think it may not have reached that level of seriousness. We have got political fascists to deal with in this country. Yes, I mean political cultists, totalitarians, extremists, zealots, myrmidons, idolaters, ideologues, sheeples, bigots, fanatics, etc. Name it, we have got those people. And you know what, they are threatening to erode our national values of a tolerance, perseverance, civility, love, equality, justice, freedom, and most importantly respect for dissenting ideologies and diversity.

But more worrisome is the silence of our activists and educated youths on the matter. We seem relaxed and careless over the ploy to destabilize our democracy by a few idiots who are on a mission to make accomplices of their gullible listeners and supporters. Make no mistake, you can find such idiots from both the ruling party and its main opposition. Their defensive mechanisms is profanity as opposed to constructive debate. They use obscenities to fray off any critical person. They will so much so pressurize you to make you feel guilty for not being on their sides. Their definition of patriotism?: being on their side (APC or SLPP); violence and not the ballot box to bring about change; bastardizing anyone who questions their gullibility and the people who feed them poison; hating a people (from an ethnic or regional whole) who have no role in your wretchedness. They simply don't want to take responsibility of their blunders. They don't want to acknowledge the fact that they had exhausted their one chance to vote candidates with the wits and moral qualities to represent them and steer the wheel to a brighter future. They now see five years too long a time  to correct their blunders. That mistake of voting in someone you barely knew, some guy from overseas presented to you by your party to love and follow after dumping your best guy whom you knew and are still aware that knows your constraints and have been responding to your needs with the little resources they had.

Isn't it ironic that someone who couldn't stand up against his/her party when they disenfranchised them by dictating who leads them as opposed to their choices would today dare stand up against a whole nation to question the power that be? You couldn't stand up against your party big-guns when one man bulldozed his way unto the top declaring himself winner, and yet you want to stand up against a whole civilization and deny them their peace?

You know what patriotism is? Patriotism is best defined by honesty. We should be honest to ourselves. We should be honest to accept that we brought this upon ourselves as youths. We don't have to make that old woman in the village, that woman in the marketplace, those girls and boys in our homes, and the innocent many whom we should have sensitized, engaged, and educated on how to make a better choice to pay for our stupidity by unleashing anarchy in society. Patriotism is best defined as one being honest in their dealings with their nation; one being honest enough and thoughtful in making a decision that will affect the whole nation; one being honest enough to vote their country and not ethnic or regional divide; and most importantly one accepting their mistakes and protecting the nation from any destructive force (from within or external).

We are the problems were are going through right at now. Even if you did not vote for this president, you sure voted for that member of Parliament who in November 2018 requested for 300 percent increment of their salary neglecting the plight of the over 50 percent of the unemployed many and the other civil servants who are underpaid. You indeed are the one who voted for that member of Parliament who in November 2019 approved the Finance Bill 2020 granting the president, vice president and the speaker of Parliament the privilege of spending thousands of US dollars on oversea vacations without having to account for it (which by the way the president in his wisdom refuse to sign ). Yes, you voted for those parliamentarians who set up a ploy to hijack the speaker of the house from the majority party in Parliament. Yes, you did vote a parliamentarian who until now cannot repeal subsections (k), (I) and (m) of section 77 of the Constitution that allow them to be loyal to their parties than to the state. And most importantly, we voted parliamentarians who endorsed a 12 months (I mean a whole twelve months) Public State of Emergency without flinching a bit. Isn't it ironical for KKY to be complaining about the excessive use of decrees by the government to rule the country in recent times when he was one among the many of parliamentarians who approved a 12-month SOE? Didn't he think it twice to know that was too much a time to allow for a review of the failures, lapses and lessons learnt under such circumstances in order to rectify it in time?

Comrades, I assure you, if we truly wish for a change in this country, we should have to pressurize our MPs in our constituencies to repeal the bad laws; rectify ambiguous laws; and draft bills that can ensure the Independence of the judiciary and the depoliticization of our security (especially the police). If changes is what we truly wish for, we can start questioning the leadership choice of our political parties that do not represent our choices. We should not allow them to impose on us leaders we don't Know, or choose. Change has to start somewhere within us first. It has to start with change of mindset. With a positive mindset, we can change the hierarchical structure of our political parties; with a positive mindset, we can learn to identify our leaders by their deeds and not by what we are fed; and with positive mindset,we can learn to engage in constructive debate rather than being obscene and violent. And most importantly, with a positive mindset, we can learn to accept that as at this time, the whole world is faced with hardship like never before. People everywhere in the world are crying of violation of human right and  a threat to their livelihood. It can be harder for us if we choose violence than constructive criticism of happenings.

~Amadu Wurie Jalloh
©2020
® Students Analysts and Writers Network
®The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation

As Covid-19 threatens to increase food insecurity in West Africa, our government should get their act together and face the real threat to public order: Hunger

The Sierra Leone government should at now try to focus its attention to the issue of livelihood and the fight against Covid-19 rather than getting involved into another warfare: a political one. We are already in a more deadly warfare with an invincible enemy, Covid-19 is squashing our economy slowly but intensely, and as things get uglier, it's the poorest of the poor that could pay the highest cost. For instance, according to a report released by USAID on the 30th January, 2018, the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic exposed the whole of Sierra Leone to a grave health impacts, and aggravated food insecurity problem in the  country owing to disruption of livelihood support activities, decrease in purchasing power and quarantine measures. The report, referencing the United Nations World Food Programme and the World Bank, further expressed that more than 50 per cent of Sierra Leone's population live under the national poverty line; and that, according to the 2017 Global Hunger Index, hunger is very widespread in the country, with approximately 38 per cent of children below 5 years of age suffering from stunting due to severe malnutrition.

This time things may get worst as livelihood disruption and quarantine measures are ubiquitously observed across the world. The IMF has warned that in 2020 the world may experience the worst recession since 1930s with global economy set to contract by 3 per cent in 2020 as opposed to early January forecast of a global GDP expansion of 3.3 per cent for this year.

How Ready is Africa to Face this Issue?

A report by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), indicated that the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic could see the spike in number of people at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition from 17 million to 50 million between the period of June and August 2020 alone. Meanwhile, "nine out of 10 African children do not meet the criteria for minimum acceptable diet outlined by the World Health Organization, and two out of five don’t eat meals regularly...." Annually, child hunger costs Ethiopia 16.5% of its GDP. The rate for Rwanda is 11.5%. The report says “for every dollar invested in reducing stunting, there is a return of about $22 (£17) in Chad, $21 in Senegal, and $17 in Niger and Uganda”, and if the investment is made early in the child’s life, the return rates can be even higher: up to $85 in Nigeria, $80 in Sudan and $60 in Kenya" (Saeed Kamali Dehghan, 5th June, 2019). Dehgan (Supra) further emphasized that by 2050, if things continue as they are now, undernourished, malnourished and hungry children and young people will amount to one billion in Africa; and more than half of African countries are presently off track to achieve the targets required in the African regional nutrition strategy (2015-2025).

Meanwhile, the agricultural season is ushered in this time by difficulty, perhaps more severe now than before. Farmers and producers have already suffered great economic downturn and market structures/system are ever more constrained this time due to the crisis making it difficult to access quality seeds and fertilizers. Agriculture makes up of 30.5 per cent of West Africa's economy, making it the largest source of income and livelihood for up to 70-80 percent of the population (with women in domination).

Oxfam International (20th April, 2020) warned that the impact of Coronavirus combined with the lean season and conflict and insecurity, which will overwhelm the population of the subregion, should be looked into and international cooperation and concerted efforts among states remain the best ways to counter the challenges.  Recent developments in Sierra Leone however indicate disregard for the eminent challenges in the subregion. Political, regional and ethnic divides are becoming more widespread and tangible, and such developments are posing major threat to both food security and  physical security. The pace of politically motivated arrests have seemingly reached an explosive pitch. The country is at crossroads, it must now choose to either stay its course and consolidate its peace and unity while at the same time building public trust in institutions, or divert attention to political warfare and arbitrary arrests that will undermine our ability to tackle Covid-19 before it becomes explosive. We have already started experiencing the wave of disobedience and anger among Sierra Leonean youths, a development that will further increase the fragility of our nation state and repel potential investors. As the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres would warn the UN security council members of other pressing risks to global security from the pandemic: "armed groups seeing an opportunity to strike, potentially with a biological attack; the erosion of trust in public institutions; economic instability; political tensions from postponing elections; uncertainty sparking further division and turmoil in some countries; and COVID-19 "triggering or exacerbating various human rights challenges", we should be concerned with this growing tension reminiscing the cause of twelve years Civil War as is narrated in the TRC report.

In the meantime, the following remarks by the secretary general should be a food for thought for our politicians at this material time: "To win against it and to overcome its consequences we need also to overcome our prejudices, phobias, hatreds, distrust, suspicions,"... And to us the ordinary people: "It's not the time for contests - who did what and who was more successful than others. It's not the time for blaming and finger-pointing. It's time to help, to share experiences, and to listen to each other and find ways to work together."

It's evident that things are rough and almost unbearable, but we can overcome in this fight. The hardship is a global reality at this time. Many people are angry even in advanced economies like the US. We should maintain the peace to save innocent lives and break the chain of transmission. We have few more years to express our anger and disappointments through the ballot box.

The ruling government should learn to from the mistakes of past adminstration and get their acts together to avoid committing the same blunders of the past. Sierra Leone is a fragile state. The judiciary should perform its duty in a free and fair (and independent) manner. Political prisoners (or accused) should be accorded their full right to justice. The habit of indefinite detention should stop. It has the potency to raise tension and anxiety, some of the breading grounds for social unrest.

The government should acknowledge people anger and the effect of the pandemic on livelihood. Efforts should be made to assist or bail out farmers and SMEs to cushion the economic and social effects of the pandemic. And where and when possible, citizens should be supported with food supply to ensure adherence to physical distancing. It could be costly, but a stitch in time can save nine. Lockdown measures should take into consideration the living conditions in the country. We should not assume a  one-size-fit-all strategy in the fight against Covid-19 in an impoverished nation as ours. Transparency, professionalism and equality are key in this fight. The security should be professional in dealing with people in quarantine or isolation units to safeguard both patients and the masses. As a people we should be transparent enough to report cases when we meet case definition. And as a government we should ensure transparency in treatment and response action in order to build trust. And equality in treatment should apply to all. We should not allow powerful or connected people to beat the system and expose the rest of the ordinary masses. We should ensure that the measure and policies apply to all irrespective of social status. Everybody should be regarded as a potential case.

We can overcome!

© Amadu Wurie Jalloh
®The Students Analysts and Writers Network
®The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation

Refs:

(https://reliefweb.int/report/sierra-leone/sierra-leone-food-assistance-fact-sheet-january-30-2018)

(https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/covid-19-50-million-people-threatened-hunger-west-africa)

(https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/05/nearly-half-of-all-child-deaths-in-africa-stem-from-hunger-study-shows)

(https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/04/chief-warns-coronavirus-threatens-global-peace-200410062544018.html)

Photo credit: anonymous (Said to have taken in northern Congo


Disclaimer: the above photo does not indicate what country it was taken.