Topic: 2024-Spread of Animal Viruses
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Matthew Gascon
Sierra Leone knows full well the dangers of zoonotic viruses. Sierra Leone’s climate, location, dense population, and frequent contact with wildlife leave us more vulnerable to these deadly pathogens, which have several ways of spreading through touching animals, contact with fluids, and much more. Sierra Leone was one of the worst affected countries during the Ebola outbreak from 2013-2016, with over 14,000 cases and almost 4,000 deaths. Sierra Leone continues to deal with the lingering threat of other viruses like Lassa fever, a common virus in West Africa that can spread fast due to underdeveloped public health systems. The delegation of Sierra Leone wants to work with the World Health Organization to prevent anything like the Ebola outbreak from ever happening again and help control and defend against other zoonotic viruses as well.
To respond to these threats, Sierra Leone has implemented many programs and actions to prevent and fight against zoonotic disease outbreaks more effectively. The government with support from the World Health Organization has worked on improving disease reporting to better detect early signs of outbreaks. Sierra Leone is also working on educating the populace on proper measures and techniques to avoid initial infection and the spread of disease. Sierra Leone has also worked to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure by training healthcare professionals on how to deal with zoonotic virus outbreaks and improving facilities to ensure the best quality of care possible. During the Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone implemented quarantines to prevent further spread of the virus.
In the future, Sierra Leone will continue to work with the World Health Organization to implement improvements to its public health system. In addition, Sierra Leone is interested in funding to help improve laboratories for better research of and prevention of zoonotic viruses, investment in community disease tracking systems for better data on outbreaks, and more reliable infrastructure to ensure the best possible care. All of these current and future measures will help make Sierra Leone and the world a safer place by preventing zoonotic virus outbreaks.
