International Medical Corps teams in Sierra Leone are providing medical assistance to returnees and Liberian refugees who are currently being evacuated from Monrovia, Liberia, to Freetown, Sierra Leone, by UNHCR’s rescue ship, MV Overbeck. Thus far, International Medical Corps has screened over 800 returnees and refugees who have been safely transported during three consecutive emergency evacuations by the MV Overbeck. Auxiliary rescue missions are planned to transport additional returnees and refugees every four days.
“We have organized a total of eight International Medical Corps medical teams—six of them in Freetown, and two in Kailahun District, the eastern region of Sierra Leone that borders with Liberia,” says Nancy Aossey, International Medical Corps President and CEO. “International Medical Corps teams will accompany UNHCR land convoys that are transporting returnees to their final destination, and they will provide proper medical attention to those who need it.”
Returnees report that there are many more Sierra Leonean refugees currently in and around the capital city of Monrovia seeking to return to Sierra Leone, due in large part to the deteriorating security in the region. Many have also reported that they have lost much of their property to government soldiers, and that the situation has worsened since the indictment of President Charles Taylor, who is said to have made public statements against Sierra Leoneans in the country. The health situation in the camps has also deteriorated over the past several months.
International Medical Corps has implemented a variety of immediate and long-term health strategies in Sierra Leone in response to the influx of returnees and refugees and as part of its countrywide program. Malaria, malnutrition, anemia, acute respiratory infections, and intestinal worms are among the primary conditions that require medical attention.
This year alone, International Medical Corps medical teams have escorted a total of 42,785 returnees/refugees (38,037 Sierra Leonean returnees and 4,748 Liberian refugees) to different destinations within Sierra Leone. Of these, 54 percent were females, and 22 percent were children under five years of age. International Medical Corps is overseeing the health component of this emergency evacuation as part of its ongoing partnership with UNHCR. Further, International Medical Corps is the implementing partner in health for all UNHCR repatriation activities in Sierra Leone.
Activities in Kailahun District include curative care, maternal and child health, expanded program of immunization, and supplementary feeding for malnourished children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers. International Medical Corps began operations in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 1999 during the brutal civil war, and expanded its program to Kambia and Kailahun districts. Current programs include surgical treatment for victims of sexual violence, rehabilitation of health care infrastructure, repatriation and reintegration of Sierra Leonean returnees, and local capacity building through training of local doctors, health workers, and community members.