Week.6 worksheet

Other Health Challenge #1: Maternal Health

Other Health Challenge #2: Ebola Virus Disease

Other Health Challenge #3: Nutrition

Incidence

The maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone is one of the highest in the world at 1,360 per 100,000 live births. (Trani et al.,2011).

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In 2014 and 2015, the rate of new cases of Ebola Virus Disease in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, including Calaba Town, was between 17.32 and 36.10 for every 10,000 persons. More than half of the recorded cases and fatalities occurred in the WA Region, which encompasses two of the country's 14 districts (Richards et al., 2015).

Nearly half a million children under the age of five are stunted, and another 30,000 are malnourished and in danger of dying soon because of poor food and the prevalence of preventable childhood diseases. (Keeley, Little and Zuehlke, 2019).

Prevalence 

With 1,360 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births, Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. (Trani et al.,2011).

Five new cases of Ebola were reported per hour on October 2, 2014, in Sierra Leone. A doubling of the diseased population was assumed to have occurred every 20 days.

(Richards et al.,2015.

The regional average for obesity is 20.7 per cent for women and 9.2 percent for men. However, the rates in Sierra Leone are lower. However, 7.6 percent of adult women and 8.3 percent of adult males are predicted to have diabetes.

(Maust et al.,2015). .

Presentation

Premature death, defined as dying before 70, affects around 63 percent of Sierra Leoneans (Trani et al.,2011).

From its first detection in February 2014 in Guinea, the Ebola virus illness rapidly expanded to Sierra Leone, with the first case reported on May 25 2014. By October 17, 2014, the epidemic had spread to all districts, infecting a total of 3,097 individuals, including at least 124 healthcare personnel (HCW)

More than half, that is 57 percent , of all deaths in children under five in Sierra Leone can be attributed to malnutrition. Still, the country's health ministry and government officials have begun working to reduce this horrifying statistic by signing the Nutrition for Growth agreement and becoming part of the Scaling Up Nutrition initiative.

Social Determinants 

Transportation, housing, and education are all examples of social determinants of health (SDOH) that may affect individual and population health. Differentiating SDOH using Z Codes may enhance the precision of therapy and healthcare access.

The connection between weddings, deaths, and tenure is explored in detail. Attending a funeral increases one's chance of contracting an illness. Changing local patterns of behaviour, particularly regarding funerals, which are fundamental to consolidating community relationships, is indicated to need more than a shift in understanding hazards.

Cultural beliefs,  traditions and taboos hinder the supply and consumption of certain nutritious foods that might otherwise aid enhance the nutritional intake of young children, even though food poverty is believed to be the greatest obstacle to dietary variety throughout the nine-month-long rainy season.

Inequities 

Women in higher-income families, those with higher levels of education, and those living in metropolitan areas tend to get preferential treatment from the healthcare system. While delivery service disparities have narrowed over time, they remain considerable.

Those from out of town who had to stay with strangers in the capital city of Freetown were among the unluckiest. They were often just thrown out into the streets when they became ill. As the pandemic developed, it became clear that some patients were being neglected and dying due to a lack of care and treatment. This might have been because everyone in the home was ill or because the other occupants had abandoned them.

Malnutrition in Sierra Leone is a relatively new health issue brought to light by the country's recent civil war. One of the country's most ignored problems is hunger.

Programs, Policies, or Legislation

The goal of the Sierra Leonean government's National Reproductive, Maternal, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) strategy are to reduce maternal mortality to 650 per 100,000 live births, neonatal mortality to 23 per 1,000 live births, and under-five mortality to 71 per 1,000. (SOPs)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a group from the International Infection Control Program of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion to Sierra Leone to help with the situation there.

UNICEF will help the country's young children eat healthier by bolstering the quality of essential nutrition services at the facility and community levels and better integrating nutrition programs into the country's broader health infrastructure.

Other 

Malaria is the single most lethal communicable illness in Sierra Leone, responsible for 38 percent of all hospital admissions. There are around three new tuberculosis cases per year for every one thousand individuals, making it another major public health concern.

A lack of enough IPC capability in Sierra Leone before 2014 made hospitals and other healthcare institutions a breeding ground for Ebola's spread among patients and staff.

The life expectancy in Sierra Leone is among the lowest in the world. Sierra Leone had a 54.3-year median life expectancy in 2018. Accordingly, the country is ranked in the worst five globally. The average lifespan throughout the globe is 72.6 years, by contrast.