By Jo Lynn Garing, Public Relations Manager, Kiwanis International
Our journey into the field began on Wednesday, November 23 with a four-hour drive to Moyamba. The first two hours were on a busy, but paved, road. The last two hours were on a horrendous dirt road, with large potholes and craters covering virtually every inch of open road.
We arrived at the Moyamba district hospital late morning, tired from the drive but excited to begin our journey. At the hospital, we were greeted by staff members and the hospital’s director, the only medical doctor on staff.
In the entire Moyamba district, there are just two doctors for the 225,000 people that live in the district.
After our tour of the hospital’s intake room and the pediatric ward, we piled back into our five-vehicle caravan and went to meet the district medical officer, the other medical doctor in Moyamba, before catching a glimpse of a health worker training session.
Sierra Leone was getting ready to launch maternal and child health week, where more than 500,000 women in two at-risk districts would be targeted for tetanus vaccinations. During the week, some of the health workers—coolers filled with the tetanus toxoid vaccine strapped to their backs—would be travelling by bicycle or motorcycle for three to five days to reach the hardest-to-reach.
Our next stop was the district’s peripheral health unit, where basic health services and a clean birthing room are provided. The unit also stores all vaccines requiring cold storage in a solar-powered refrigerator.
At the peripheral health unit, we spoke to a woman who delivered a healthy baby at the health unit, but after delivery the baby showed signs of tetanus. Fortunately, the baby recovered and turned out not to have tetanus after all. Just five years ago, more than one in five infant deaths in Sierra Leone were attributed to tetanus. Now it’s getting harder and harder to find tetanus cases in the country. Let’s make it harder and harder find tetanus cases in all the countries where tetanus remains a threat!
View more photos.