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Written by Mae Azango azama20062007@yahoo.com
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Published: 03 September 2014
Monrovia - since
the Ebola outbreak, the Ministry of Health and Social welfare announced
several numbers as Ebola hot lines for citizens to call health workers
for suspected cases or dead bodies. Unfortunately, several residents in
and around Monrovia have continuously complained that nobody picks up
these hot lines whenever a body is identified, hence leaving abandoned
or unidentified bodies in many communities or on the streets, unless
attention is drawn through a riot, by dwellers in those communities.
As in the case of the former
Ministry of Education Building on Broad Street in Monrovia, an
identified handicapped man with both legs amputated, died in his
wheelchair right at the entrance of the building, since Monday and the
body was not picked up by health workers despite repeated calls and the
conspicuous location of the body on the main street of Monrovia.
“I
know this man from the street, and he was sick for a long time, but
yesterday he vomited and toilet on himself before he died,” says Francis
Blama, another handicap in a wheel chair in the scene. “I think this
man die from cold, but because of this crisis Ebola, everybody thinks it
is Ebola. Since yesterday, we called the Ebola people to come for the
body, but nobody has come,”
It can be recalled that since the
Ebola outbreak, two separate communities in Bushrod Island took to the
street and created road blocks to demonstrate calling the attention of
health workers to remove several dead bodies of people who died in their
houses. The riot that created tension, brought police on the scene, and
people got wounded while some sellers lose their market.
Since those incidents, many other communities like the Du-port community in Paynesville, Matadi community in Sinkor
and other places have followed suit by creating roadblocks to draw
attention for bodies to be removed. On Sunday in Sinkor, a lady brought a
helpless five year old child to the street to call attention.
According
to the lady who is the child’s aunt the child’s mother died of Ebola
five days after, and she brought her to the street to call attention
because she had called the Ebola hot lines but nobody has been able to
come for the child. According to an eyewitness on the scene, who did not
want to be named, the little girl was only picked up by health workers
because a WHO vehicle stopped and called the Ministry of Health and
reported the incident.
“If the WHO workers had not called the
Ministry of Health, the child would have died. And the only reason the
ambulance came, was because WHO happens to be a donor partner, and
Ministry says it needs money for Ebola. So they have to pretend as
though they are working”, the aunt said.
http://frontpageafricaonline.com/index.php/news/2876-dead-bodies-everywhere-are-ebola-hotlines-really-working