After the lock down...

Well, as expected, the government of Sierra Leone has declared the "ose-to-ose (house-to-house) Ebola tok (talk) sensitization campaign" a resounding success. Some officials openly graded the exercise saying, "we've achieved 80-90-100 percent success". The President even said the campaign achieved it's goals... and he declared it a success... "although not without its challenges". 

With such declarations... and the awarding of such high marks... I went back to a document issued from the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to see if the campaign really did meet it's objectives. 

Here's what the goals were... 

The goals of the 3-day period... According to the EOC. 

WHEN: 19th -21st September 2014.
WHY: There are 5 specific objectives:
1. To reach 100% of households with correct information on Ebola
2. To increase community acceptance of Ebola affected persons especially children
3. To promote hand washing with soap at household level (1.5 million bars of soap will be distributed)
4. To rebuild public confidence and trust in the health system
5. To install neighborhood watch structures at community level

Measuring success... Did 100% of households get a visit? Did the SLAJ/IRN and other radio programs help with that? Were victims and survivors de-stigmatized? Did 1.5 million households get soap? Do people now trust the healthcare system? Were neighbourhood watch programs set up? 

I don't know the answers to some of these questions... but I think it important to remember the intent and goals of this campaign.

My personal opinion... after reading reports and talking to many people is this... the campaign was "successful, small small", which means it was okay... but no where near the resounding success we're being fed.  

Most people obeyed the stay-at-home lock down. Most people stayed indoors or around their compounds. There were very few people on the main streets of Freetown. But, that wasn't a stated goal. 

I'd say... at this stage 100% of the population know that a deadly disease has struck Sierra Leone. Many people are not aware of the details... and some even attribute the presence of the disease to "God's punishment". They may not know much... but they know there's a disease in Sierra Leone... a disease that kills. I'd also say that radio has played a significant role in this goal... The SL Association of Journalists and the Independent Radio Network were on air for 13 hours a day over the 3-days. They added to the sensitization and awareness tremendously. So, I'd rate this goal as 75% because of the inaccurate messaging some have received. 

I don't think the 2nd goal was achieved... as many survivors and families of those who've died are still stigmatized and ostracized. Nurses are still being evicted by ignorant landlords. Burial teams are still not able to return to their homes. Even the rumour of an Ebola death instills fear amongst neighbours. I'd rate this goal as 25% successful. 

The 3rd goal... to promote hand-washing and distribute 1.5 million bars of soap... was completed although a lot of households didn't get any soap. Apparently, the "free" soap was a big deal... for obvious reasons, and some areas complained bitterly that there weren't enough bars of soap. Logistics for this aspect of the campaign were woefully weak... So, I'd have to say this goal was 50% successful. 

The 4rth goal was to rebuild public confidence and trust in the healthcare system. It's hard to measure... but I'd rate this goal a 25% as well. I'm still hearing about people who are pregnant, have malaria or even Ebola who are staying away from health centres, etc. because they're afraid. I'd be afraid too... given the state of those places and the lack of basic care being offered. 

Goal number 5 talks about a neighbourhood watch program. I haven't read anything about that... and don't know of any system that's been put in place. So, I'd rate this at 25% as well... In the neighbourhoods I frequent, including my own, there is no system for this. 

All in all, I wouldn't rate the campaign all that successful when considering the goals stated by the EOC. But here in Sierra Leone... if the President says it was a success... many people will believe it. And, life goes on... More misinformation. More propaganda. More misleading the public. More of the same... in other words. 

On the upside... I didn't read about anyone who starved during the lock down. And, "my" families and friends survived. Most of the country survived the 3-day campaign... and we'll wait to see more positive actions and results. Fingers crossed.