Search

This article contributes to an understanding of the existential character of confinement by directing attention to the interlinked concepts of tiredness and foreboding. Through juxtaposition and analysis of material gathered among people whose lives are lived under compromised circumstances in Sierra Leone and Palestine we illuminate the way time - not only space - confines. Our analytical concern is with the way in which futures are anticipated by people confined in space and time, where conditions of possibility are materially and sometimes corporeally suffocating. To anticipate fragile futures, or to mourn futures terminated early is exhausting. Tiredness, from this perspective, is a ubiquitous and overwhelming sentiment suffusing what it means to live in confining sites. It is an expression of foreboding understood as a 'being towards death' (Stevenson 2014). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing awareness and international support for rebuilding states that have gone through conflict. Third-party interventions in bringing peace to countries that have emerged from civil wars have been channeled through a fundamental concept known as liberal peacebuilding. Liberal peacebuilding, even though it faces much criticism, has been a prominent strategy for third-party intervention in post-war countries since the end of the Cold War. This paper deals with the liberal peacebuilding process in Sierra Leone, after its decade-long brutal civil war. The focus lies on Dr Roland Paris' institutionalization before liberalization (IBL) peacebuilding strategy, its strengths and shortcomings, and its contributions to sustaining peace in Sierra Leone since the end of the war in 2002. Arguing that the IBL strategy has helped to maintain peace in Sierra Leone after ten years of civil war, the paper analyzes how peacebuilding has been implemented in post-war Sierra Leone under the six different pillars of the IBL strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is wide engagement with large-scale land deals in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly from the perspectives of development and international political economy. Recently, scholars have increasingly pointed to a gendered lacuna in this literature. Engagement with gender tends to focus on potential differential impacts for men and women, and it also flags the need for more detailed empirical research of specific land deals. This paper draws from ethnographic data collected in Northern Sierra Leone to support the claim that the impacts of land deals are highly gendered, but it also argues that lineage in a land-owning family and patronage intersect with these gendered impacts. This data supports my claim that analysis of land deals should start from an understanding of the context-dependent, complex arrays of power and marginality. Such a starting point allows for a wider and ‘messier’ range of impacts and experiences to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The West African Ebola epidemic of 2013–2016 was by far the largest outbreak of the disease on record. Sierra Leone suffered nearly half of the 28,646 reported cases. This paper presents a set of culturally contextualized Ebola messages that are based on the findings of qualitative interviews and focus group discussions conducted in 'hotspot' areas of rural Bombali District and urban Freetown in Sierra Leone, between January and March 2015. An iterative approach was taken in the message development process, whereby (i) data from formative research was subjected to thematic analysis to identify areas of community concern about Ebola and the national response; (ii) draft messages to address these concerns were produced; (iii) the messages were field tested; (iv) the messages were refined; and (v) a final set of messages on 14 topics was disseminated to relevant national and international stakeholders. Each message included details of its rationale, audience, dissemination channels, messengers, and associated operational issues that need to be taken into account. While developing the 14 messages, a set of recommendations emerged that could be adopted in future public health emergencies. These included the importance of embedding systematic, iterative qualitative research fully into the message development process; communication of the subsequent messages through a two-way dialogue with communities, using trusted messengers, and not only through a one-way, top-down communication process; provision of good, parallel operational services; and engagement with senior policy makers and managers as well as people in key operational positions to ensure national ownership of the messages, and to maximize the chance of their being utilised. The methodological approach that we used to develop our messages along with our suggested recommendations constitute a set of tools that could be incorporated into international and national public health emergency preparedness and response plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management, coordination and logistics were critical for responding effectively to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, and the duration of the epidemic provided a rare opportunity to study the management of an outbreak that endured long enough for the response to mature. This qualitative study examines the structures and systems used to manage the response, and how and why they changed and evolved. It also discusses the quality of relationships between key responders and their impact. Early coordination mechanisms failed and the President took operational control away from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and established a National Ebola Response Centre, headed by the Minister of Defence, and District Ebola Response Centres. British civilian and military personnel were deeply embedded in this command and control architecture and, together with the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response lead, were the dominant coordination partners at the national level. Coordination, politics and tensions in relationships hampered the response, but as the response mechanisms matured, coordination improved and rifts healed. Simultaneously setting up new organizations, processes and plans as well as attempting to reconcile different cultures, working practices and personalities in such an emergency was bound to be challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The border region of Forécariah (Guinea) and Kambia (Sierra Leone) was of immense interest to the West Africa Ebola response. Cross-sectional household surveys with multi-stage cluster sampling procedure were used to collect random samples from Kambia (n = 635) in July 2015 and Foré cariah (n = 502) in August 2015 to assess public knowledge, attitudes and practices related to Ebola. Knowledge of the disease was high in both places, and handwashing with soap and water was the most widespread prevention practice. Acceptance of safe alternatives to traditional burials was significantly lower in Forécariah compared with Kambia. In both locations, there was a minority who held discriminatory attitudes towards survivors. Radio was the predominant source of information in both locations, but those from Kambia were more likely to have received Ebola information from community sources (mosques/churches, community meetings or health workers) compared with those in Forécariah. These findings contextualize the utility of Ebola health messaging during the epidemic and suggest the importance of continued partnership with community leaders, including religious leaders, as a prominent part of future public health protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact tracing in an Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is the process of identifying individuals who may have been exposed to infected persons with the virus, followed by monitoring for 21 days (the maximum incubation period) from the date of the most recent exposure. The goal is to achieve early detection and isolation of any new cases in order to prevent further transmission. We performed a retrospective data analysis of 261 probable and confirmed EVD cases in the national EVD database and 2525 contacts in the Contact Line Lists in Kenema district, Sierra Leone between 27 April and 4 September 2014 to assess the performance of contact tracing during the initial stage of the outbreak. The completion rate of the 21-day monitoring period was 89% among the 2525 contacts. However, only 44% of the EVD cases had contacts registered in the Contact Line List and 6% of probable or confirmed cases had previously been identified as contacts. Touching the body fluids of the case and having direct physical contact with the body of the case conferred a 9- and 20-fold increased risk of EVD status, respectively. Our findings indicate that incompleteness of contact tracing led to considerable unmonitored transmission in the early months of the epidemic. To improve the performance of early outbreak contact tracing in resource poor settings, our results suggest the need for prioritized contact tracing after careful risk assessment and better alignment of Contact Line Listing with case ascertainment and investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the Poro, a male secret society in rural Sierra Leone, and how it conditions access to security and justice. It critiques dichotomies between state and non-state and substantiates the networked quality of order-making as dispersed among a multitude of actors who intertwine disparate rationalities and registers of authority. The secret nature of the Poro, the ‘sons of the soil’, and the ‘stranger’ are explored as central figures. Poro membership is essential to the production of social and physical boundaries between insiders and outsiders of a community. By conditioning access to local positions of power and decision-making about how resources are to be distributed, the Poro also conditions access to security and justice. The networked quality of order-making becomes particularly noticeable when the police engages in Poro affairs, which accentuates the multitude of registers of authorities that are combined and assembled as the Poro and the police interact. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite increased scientific interest in the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA), accurate data on implementation processes remain sparse. This paper aims at filling this gap by providing empirical in-depth knowledge on the case of the Swiss-based Addax Bioenergy Ltd. in Sierra Leone. Extensive fieldwork allowed the interdisciplinary research team (1) the identification of different actors that are necessary for the implementation on a vertical level and (2) the documentation of the heterogeneous group of project affected people's perceptions and strategies on a horizontal level. Findings reveal that even a project labeled as best-practice example by UN agencies triggers a number of problematic processes for affected communities. The loss of natural resources that comes along with the land lease and the lack of employment possibilities mostly affects already vulnerable groups. On the other hand, strategies and resistance of local people also affect the project implementation. This shows that the horizontal and vertical levels are not separate entities. They are linked by social networks, social interactions, and means of communication and both levels take part in shaping the project's impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses philosophical discourses (ontology and epistemology), framing researchers' position on topical issues relating to sustainable development, particularly in relation to Sierra Leone. The country is a nation full of memories; that which has brought lasting pain in the minds of people and the use of philosophical concepts has helped to throw light on areas pertaining to the country's scope for achieving its SDGs, while at the same time, engaging with the reality of issues through open discourses. Relevant methodologies have also been addressed with the hope of bringing to the fore ontological discourses required to foster epistemic dialogue for the sustained development of the country as a whole (more so in areas like health calamities and civil crisis the country have battled itself with in the past decade). Relevant recommended points have been proposed as a way of supporting forward thinking discourses in ensuring the country is able to progress well with its planned SDGs targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a short reflection on the nature of the post war political transformation in Sierra Leone, taking the visual signs of the streets as a starting point. The author observed the post-conflict democratisation process over five years, between 2008 and 2012, and describes how reading the political slogans, bill boards and popular graffitis allowed her following the subtle socio-economic changes characterising the country. The underlying argument is that the largely externally led liberal peace building using foreign and local NGOs as engines of a deep social transformation was based on abstract promises that ultimately failed to realise. Without effectively changing people's lives, these abstract promises normalised a value system that prepared a capitalist take off but ten years after the end of the civil war capitalist development still worked only for a tiny minority, making many people doubt about the benevolent nature of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has provided a forum for analytical discourses pertaining to two philosophical and methodological concepts (Phronesis and Hermeneutics) in a bid to addressing the key objectives set out. Discussions emanated from the work (more so from literature review carried out) clearly shows that, there is no crystal dichotomy between the two concepts, but more so the prevalence of interconnectedness as interpretation of situations or even texts can also be based on an expression of positive biasness towards what one may perceive as being humanely justifiable, closely linked to Hans-Georg Gadamer's hermeneutical philosophy. The methodological inquiry of the study's reliance on literature review materials and other documentations has helped greatly in unravelling an open, but more critical discourses pertaining to the two case study countries selected (Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The scale and geographical distribution of the current outbreak in West Africa raised doubts as to the effectiveness of established methods of control. Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was first detected in Sierra Leone in May 2014 in Kailahun district. Despite high case numbers elsewhere in the country, transmission was eliminated in the district by December 2014. We describe interventions underpinning successful EVD control in Kailahun and implications for EVD control in other areas. Methods: Internal service data and published reports from response agencies were analysed to describe the structure and type of response activities, EVD case numbers and epidemic characteristics. This included daily national situation reports and District-level data and reports of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) patient data and internal epidemiological reports. We used EVD case definitions provided by the World Health Organisation over the course of the outbreak. Characteristics assessed included level of response activities and epidemiological features such as reported exposure (funeral-related or not), time interval between onset of illness and admission to the EVD Management Centre (EMC), work-related exposures (health worker or not) and mortality. We compared these characteristics between two time periods—June to July (the early period of response), and August to December (when coverage and quality of response had improved). A stochastic model was used to predict case numbers per generation with different numbers of beds and a varying percentage of community cases detected. Results: There were 652 probable/confirmed EVD cases from June-December 2014 in Kailahun. An EMC providing patient care opened in June. By August 2014 an integrated detection, treatment, and prevention strategy was in place across the district catchment zone. From June-July to August-December 2014 surveillance and contact tracing staff increased from 1.0 to 8.8 per confirmed EVD case, EMC capacity increased from 32 to 100 beds, the number of burial teams doubled, and health promotion activities increased in coverage. These improvements in response were associated with the following changes between the same periods: the proportion of confirmed/probable cases admitted to the EMC increased from 35% to 83% (χ2 p-value<0·001), the proportion of confirmed patients admitted to the EMC <3 days of symptom onset increased from 19% to 37% (χ2 p-value <0·001), and reported funeral contact in those admitted decreased from 33% to 16% (χ2 p-value <0·001). Mathematical modelling confirmed the importance of both patient management capacity and surveillance and contact tracing for EVD control. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate that control of EVD can be achieved using established interventions based on identification and appropriate management of those who are at risk of and develop EVD, including in the context of ongoing transmission in surrounding regions. Key attributes in achieving control were sufficient patient care capacity (including admission to specialist facilities of suspect and probable cases for assessment), integrated with adequate staffing and resourcing of community-based case detection and prevention activities. The response structure and coverage targets we present are of value in informing effective control in current and future EVD outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of February 17, 2016, a total of 14,122 cases (62% confirmed) of Ebola Virus Disease (Ebola) and 3,955 Ebola-related deaths had been reported in Sierra Leone since the epidemic in West Africa began in 2014. A key focus of the Ebola response in Sierra Leone was the promotion and implementation of safe, dignified burials to prevent Ebola transmission by limiting contact with potentially infectious corpses. Traditional funeral practices pose a substantial risk for Ebola transmission through contact with infected bodies, body fluids, contaminated clothing, and other personal items at a time when viral load is high; however, the role of funeral practices in the Sierra Leone epidemic and ongoing Ebola transmission has not been fully characterized. In September 2014, a sudden increase in the number of reported Ebola cases occurred in Moyamba, a rural and previously low-incidence district with a population of approximately 260,000. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation and CDC investigated and implemented public health interventions to control this cluster of Ebola cases, including community engagement, active surveillance, and close follow-up of contacts. A retrospective analysis of cases that occurred during July 11-October 31, 2014, revealed that 28 persons with confirmed Ebola had attended the funeral of a prominent pharmacist during September 5-7, 2014. Among the 28 attendees with Ebola, 21 (75%) reported touching the man's corpse, and 16 (57%) reported having direct contact with the pharmacist before he died. Immediate, safe, dignified burials by trained teams with appropriate protective equipment are critical to interrupt transmission and control Ebola during times of active community transmission; these measures remain important during the current response phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sierra Leone has faced a shortage and maldistribution of staff in its post-conflict period. This long-standing challenge is now exacerbated by the systemic shock and damage wrought by Ebola. This study aimed to investigate the importance of different motivation factors in rural areas in Sierra Leone and thus to contribute to better decisions on financial and non-financial incentive packages, here and in similar contexts.Methods: This article is based on participatory life histories, conducted in 2013 with 23 health workers (doctors, nurses, midwives and Community Health Officers) in four regions of Sierra Leone who had worked in the sector since 2000. Although the interviews covered a wide range of themes, here we present findings on motivating and demotivating factors for staff, especially those in rural areas, based on thematic analysis of transcripts.Results: Rural health workers face particular challenges, some of which stem from the difficult terrain, which add to common disadvantages of rural living (poor social amenities, etc.). Poor working conditions, emotional and financial costs of separation from families, limited access to training, longer working hours (due to staff shortages) and the inability to earn from other sources make working in rural areas less attractive. Moreover, rules on rotation which should protect staff from being left too long in rural areas are not reported to be respected. By contrast, poor management had more resonance in urban areas, with reports of poor delegation, favouritism and a lack of autonomy for staff. Tensions within the team over unclear roles and absenteeism are also significant demotivating factors in general.Conclusions: This study provides important policy-focused insights into motivation of health workers and can contribute towards building a resilient and responsive health system, incorporating the priorities and needs of health workers. Their voices and experiences should be taken into account as the post-Ebola landscape is shaped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women farmers make up a majority of small-scale food producers in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their important role in the food and livelihood security of their households and communities, women continue to face substantial challenges in their rights of and access to land resources in the region. In a number of countries such as Sierra Leone where large-scale land acquisition is ongoing, we posit that women's predicament may further deteriorate. Using data drawn from a survey of household and livelihood activities, focus groups and interviews we examine the outcomes of large-scale land acquisitions on women at the local level in two districts in Sierra Leone. We found that first, women depend more on land-based natural resources that directly affect the day-to-day welfare of households (such as firewood and medicinal plants) than men. Second, land acquisitions have led to a significant fall in the incomes of women and men. The effects of the fall of women's income have more direct and profound consequences on household wellbeing compared with men. Third, men tend to rank the effects of land acquisitions on women lower than women do. We conclude that current social and cultural norms and women's role in rural societies is complex and predisposes women to negative livelihood processes and outcomes associated with large-scale land acquisitions. Policy interventions designed to address local and national challenges to socio-economic and cultural development should recognize the crucial role played by women and be responsive to their special needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the work of the African photographer Alphonso Lisk-Carew, who was born in 1883. Particular focus is given to his depictions of life in Sierra Leone in his art. Additional topics discussed include the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone, his work creating picture postcards and the late colonial period in Sierra Leone. Details relating to Lisk-Carew's artistic techniques are also offered, as are details relating to social and political conditions in Sierra Leone during Lisk-Carew's lifetime.

Over the past two decades there has been a rapid increase in funds for local civil society actors in fragile states. Current peace-building and development efforts strive for the recreation of a vibrant, active and ‘liberal’ civil society. In the case of Sierra Leone, paradoxically, this growing support has not strengthened civil society actors based on that liberal idea(l). Instead of experiencing enhanced proactive participation stemming from the civil sphere, Sierra Leone’s civil society appears to be largely depoliticised. Drawing on empirical data gathered over the past four years, this article offers three interrelated causal explanations of why this phenomenon occurred during the country’s peace-building phase from 2002 to 2013. First, Sierra Leone’s civil society landscape has become instrumentalised to serve a broader liberal peace-building and development agenda in several ways. Second, Western idea(l)s of participatory approaches and democracy are repeatedly challenged by the legacies of colonial rule and socially entrenched forms of neo-patrimonialism. Third, abject poverty and the lack of education affect activism and agency from below. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the social legacy of slavery in post-slave emancipation, or abolition, in the British colonial Sierra Leone from 1928 through 1956. An overview of the role that the British colonial government administration played in efforts to transition former slaves into forced labor, including the impact it had on local chiefs' ability to employ forced labor, is provided.

This paper is based on the contention that there exists a nexus between (political) CSR leadership and poverty reduction in developing countries particularly Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Also, the paper argues that CSR leadership by the multinationals (MNCs) can facilitate poverty reduction in both countries as well as has the capacity to shape CSR practice and sustainable development. The study focuses on Nigeria and Sierra Leone to find parallel and similarities in both countries - as nations known for inept political leadership and poor CSR leadership. Thus, both countries' political leadership is largely responsible for the failings of corporate bodies to live up to their billings in terms of CSR and poverty reduction. In addition to exploring the politico-historical leadership trajectory of these countries to find nexus with CSR leadership, the paper deals with the aetiology of Nigeria and Sierra Leone's political leadership and its impacts on leading CSR and sustainable development by MNCs (and other corporate bodies). To do this, the paper relies on critical literature review of extant literature on the phenomena discussed here and thus develops a conceptual framework that indicates knowledge extension on the subject matter of the interface of poverty reduction and CSR leadership. The findings of this paper indicate that (political) leadership has a rectilinear relationship with how corporate leaders take issues of CSR in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of ensuring the full reintegration of refugee women and returnees in post-conflict societies is an important one, yet there is gap in the literature that evaluates interventions designed to assist them. This article seeks to narrow this gap by examining the gender policy of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as applied to reintegration programs in Sierra Leone, particularly in Kailahun district. Using Amartya Sen's concept of agency, the paper begins with an exploration of the pre-war status of women and girls in Sierra Leone and their marginalization in flight and exile. The paper then argues that the conceptual framework of UNHCR's Community Empowerment Projects (CEPs) created a foundation for an open, democratic process that, in theory, could lead to enhanced well-being for women as beneficiaries and greater political agency for them as decision-makers. In practice, the CEPS resulted in the implementation of projects that benefited women both directly and indirectly, especially in the areas of water and sanitation and education. The lack of emphasis on health projects, however, especially when compared to the strong support for rebuilding community buildings controlled by elders, shows the impact of traditional, patriarchal decision-making on the CEP process. The paper further argues that special women's centers constructed or supported by UNHCR, though small in number, both enhanced the well-being of and promoted political agency for women; this intervention contributed to the high levels of females elected as local officials in Kailahun district in the 2012 elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses responses to the outbreak of the virus known as Ebola in West Africa, particularly in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, during the early 21st century. According to the article, the Ebola crisis emerged following the intersection of economic, social, and political injustices that included weak health systems, insufficient development policies, and failed global health governance by groups such as the World Health Organization and United Nations. The article discusses the concept of structural violence, and incorrect assumptions about West Africa.

In this article the author, a nurse, reflects upon his experiences working at an Ebola Treatment Center in Sierra Leone. Particular focus is given to his observations on the problem of stigma and other psychological stressors for both patients and nurses. Additional topics discussed include how the West African ebola outbreak was caused by the Zaire ebolavirus, social conditions for those treated for Ebola in Sierra Leone and insights on the negative impact of exaggerated media responses to the outbreak.

The article offers information related to education and health including the closure of schools due to the teachers strike in Kenya, the countdown of Sierra Leone for becoming Ebola-free, and the removal of Nigeria from the polio-endemic countries list of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The article discusses the deployment by the British Defence Medical Services (DMS) of humanitarian assistance to the Sierra Leonean government in response to the Ebola crisis. Topics covered include the development of DMS Ebola Treatment Facility (ETF) to care for health care workers, the association of the junior doctors' strike with access to the ETF and the primary constraint to admission of health care workers.

Tras el conflicto en Liberia y Sierra Leona, se establecieron alianzas consistentes en darse apoyo mutuo y que incluían a los propios desplazados, facilitando resultados rápidos y duraderos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the confirmation of the World Health Organization (WHO) that Sierra Leone is officially free of Ebola virus, but it will feel the impact of the outbreak in the forthcoming years.

The article reports that Sierra Leone government is starting its countdown of becoming Ebola virus disease-free country following the discharged of two known Ebola patients.