Sierra Leone Archives - Jean-Jacques Cornish https://jjcornish.com/tag/sierra-leone/ The low down on African affairs Mon, 10 Feb 2020 22:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://i0.wp.com/jjcornish.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/cropped-Fountain_Pen_favicon-812.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Sierra Leone Archives - Jean-Jacques Cornish https://jjcornish.com/tag/sierra-leone/ 32 32 Toture is “rampant” in Nigeria: BBC https://jjcornish.com/2020/02/toture-is-rampant-in-nigeria-bbc/ Mon, 10 Feb 2020 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2020/02/toture-is-rampant-in-nigeria-bbc/ An independent investigation has  found  torture is rampant among security forces interrogating detainees. It found that a senior police officer implicated in the 2014 death of a tortured suspect is still serving . BBC Africa  Eye has several video clips of detainees, including children, tortured by a method known as tabay. It involves binding the […]

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An independent investigation has  found  torture is rampant among security forces interrogating detainees.

It found that a senior police officer implicated in the 2014 death of a tortured suspect is still serving .

BBC Africa  Eye has several video clips of detainees, including children, tortured by a method known as tabay.

It involves binding the arms behind the back adding weight to increase the pain.

Nigerian soldiers learned it while serving as peacekeepers in Sierra Leone 20 years ago.

Torture is illegal in Nigeria but the perpetrators of tabay appear to be able to harm suspects with impunity.

The BBC is showing footage of torture with a warning to viewers that they are about to see scenes that might be too shocking for some of them

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UK to step up pressure on international community to fight EBOLA outbreak in eastern DRC https://jjcornish.com/2019/05/uk-to-step-up-pressure-on-international-community-to-fight-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-drc/ Wed, 15 May 2019 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2019/05/uk-to-step-up-pressure-on-international-community-to-fight-ebola-outbreak-in-eastern-drc/ Britain’s going to putting pressure on international donors and the United Nations to up their game in fighting the EBOLA outbreak which is spiraling out of control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Britain’s producing as new vaccine against the hemorrhagic disease that could be more effective if rebels stopped attacking medical facilities. Britain’s International […]

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Britain’s going to putting pressure on international donors and the United Nations to up their game in fighting the EBOLA outbreak which is spiraling out of control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Britain’s producing as new vaccine against the hemorrhagic disease that could be more effective if rebels stopped attacking medical facilities.

Britain’s International Development Secretary Rory Stewart’s call to the international community follows an expert meeting he convened drawing on experience from fighting the EBOLA outbreak in Sierra Leone three years ago.

Former foreign secretary David Milliband, who is now chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, says after visiting eastern DRC that the second worst outbreak of EBOLA is terrifyingly spiraling out of control having sickened more than 1700 people and killed more than 1000. 

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Time has run out for Commonwealth Games athletes who did not go home from Australia https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/time-has-run-out-for-commonwealth-games-athletes-who-did-not-go-home-from-australia/ Tue, 15 May 2018 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/time-has-run-out-for-commonwealth-games-athletes-who-did-not-go-home-from-australia/ Time has run out for more than a dozen African athletes who did not go home after last month’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Their visas ran out yesterday and Australian authorities are saying they must leave or apply for refugee status. The athletes come from Cameroon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda. They left their team […]

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Time has run out for more than a dozen African athletes who did not go home after last month’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Their visas ran out yesterday and Australian authorities are saying they must leave or apply for refugee status.

The athletes come from Cameroon, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

They left their team headquarters during last month’s Commonwealth Games and did not return with them.

Authorities in Canberra say they must now formally apply for refugee status or be treated as illegal migrants.

Some of them have consulted an asylum resource centre in Melbourne.

Most of them are believed to have moved to Brisbane and Sydney where it is easier to avoid contact with immigration the authorities.

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Medical experts believe they can prevent spread of DRC Ebola outbreak https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/medical-experts-believe-they-can-prevent-spread-of-drc-ebola-outbreak/ Wed, 09 May 2018 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/medical-experts-believe-they-can-prevent-spread-of-drc-ebola-outbreak/ Medical experts who’ve arrived at ground zero for the Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak say there’s a very low risk of the deadly virus spreading. The remoteness of the area, which has made access difficult for them, militates against the haemorrhagic disease spreading. This is the ninth Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo since […]

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Medical experts who’ve arrived at ground zero for the Congo’s latest Ebola outbreak say there’s a very low risk of the deadly virus spreading.

The remoteness of the area, which has made access difficult for them, militates against the haemorrhagic disease spreading.

This is the ninth Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the virus was identified there 42 years ago.

Medical teams say they’ve developed a successful model for preventing the spread of the disease carried by contact with human body fluids.

They’ve also learned valuable lessons from the world’s worst Ebola outbreak that killed 11 000 people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea four years ago 

Teams from the World Health Organisation and Medecins Sans Frontiers are on the ground in Bikoro, in northwest DRC, applying their experience.  

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Nigeria takes steps to stop Ebola spreading from DRC https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/nigeria-takes-stress-to-stop-ebola-spreading-from-drc/ Wed, 09 May 2018 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/nigeria-takes-stress-to-stop-ebola-spreading-from-drc/ Nigeria’s taken immediate precautions to prevent any spread into its borders of the Ebola outbreak identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vigilance has been tightened at airports with thermometers being used to screen passengers. Nigerian immigration authorities recall their experience in 2014 when the world’s worst  Ebola outbreak killed 11 000 people in Sierra […]

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Nigeria’s taken immediate precautions to prevent any spread into its borders of the Ebola outbreak identified in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Vigilance has been tightened at airports with thermometers being used to screen passengers.

Nigerian immigration authorities recall their experience in 2014 when the world’s worst  Ebola outbreak killed 11 000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

An infected Liberian diplomat trying to get to the United Stated brought the virus into Nigeria.

Eight Nigerians who came into contact with  died including the doctor who first treated him.

Nigerian authorities were praised for the way they prevented a more devastating Ebola outbreak four years ago.

Health Minister Isaac Adewole says from experience gained then, they’re tightening vigilance at all entry points especially airports and screening passengers.

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New Ebola outbreak confirmed in DRC https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/new-ebola-outbreak-confirmed-in-drc/ Tue, 08 May 2018 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2018/05/new-ebola-outbreak-confirmed-in-drc/ An Ebola outbreak’s been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With 21 suspicious illnesses and 17 deaths, the World Health Organization has released $1M in emergency funds. Two of the five samples taken from the iIkoko Iponge health facility near Bikoro in Equateur Province these past five weeks have tested positive for the viral […]

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An Ebola outbreak’s been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With 21 suspicious illnesses and 17 deaths, the World Health Organization has released $1M in emergency funds.

Two of the five samples taken from the iIkoko Iponge health facility near Bikoro in Equateur Province these past five weeks have tested positive for the viral haemorrhagic fever Ebola.

There have been 17 deaths from in  the northwestern DRC.

Local authorities have limited health facilities and rely on international aid and supplies.

A group of specialists from the WHO and Medecines Sans Frontiers are moving to the area to scale response efforts.

Ebola killed four people in an outbreak in the Congo last year. 

In 2014 Ebola killed 11 000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. 

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Promising reports from Ebola vaccine trials https://jjcornish.com/2017/10/promising-reports-ebola-vaccine-trials/ Wed, 11 Oct 2017 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2017/10/promising-reports-ebola-vaccine-trials/ Two experimental vaccines against the Ebola virus have shown promise in protecting against the haemorrhagic fever for at least a year. The report in the New England Journal 0f Medicine  is the first full account of a large-scale effort to test what could be the first vaccine against Ebola. The outbreak of the highly contagious […]

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Two experimental vaccines against the Ebola virus have shown promise in protecting against the haemorrhagic fever for at least a year.

The report in the New England Journal 0f Medicine  is the first full account of a large-scale effort to test what could be the first vaccine against Ebola.

The outbreak of the highly contagious and often deadly virus killed more than 11 000 people, mainly in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, as it swept West Africa from late 2013 to 2016.

The phase II study involved 1 500 people in Monrovia, Liberia.

After one month, 84 percent of recipients of the first vaccines developed an antibody response. At one year, 80 percent still had this protection.

For the second vaccine , 71 percent developed an antibody response, and 64 percent still had such a response at one year, when the trial ended.

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Eight Chinese vessels seized for illegal fishing off West Africa https://jjcornish.com/2017/05/eight-chinese-vessels-seized-illegal-fishing-off-west-africa/ Wed, 03 May 2017 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2017/05/eight-chinese-vessels-seized-illegal-fishing-off-west-africa/ Eight Chinese fishing vessels have been detained off the West Coast of Africa. Their owners could face millions of dollars in fines.   The ships were seized by inspectors from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau. They found them to be violating regulations on catching protected fish and using nets with small holes to facilitate bigger […]

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Eight Chinese fishing vessels have been detained off the West Coast of Africa.

Their owners could face millions of dollars in fines.

 

The ships were seized by inspectors from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau.

They found them to be violating regulations on catching protected fish and using nets with small holes to facilitate bigger hauls.

With that equipment a Chinese ship can catch in a week what it takes local fisherman a year to haul in.

The arrests came after a two-month regional patrol on a Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza.

The Greenpeace ship carries local inspectors from West African countries often hamstrung by budget and technology constraints.

A recent study by Frontiers in Marine Science estimated West Africa’s annual losses from illegal and unregulated fishing at $2,3 billion.

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Justin Trudeau makes his safari as Canada’s premier https://jjcornish.com/2016/11/justin-trudeau-makes-safari-canadas-premier/ Sun, 20 Nov 2016 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2016/11/justin-trudeau-makes-safari-canadas-premier/ Canadian premier Justin Trudeau this week embarks on his first Africa visit since becoming premier. He’ll visit Ebola for talks with Africa’s only woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and move to Madagascar for the summit of French speaking countries. ends intro Premier Justin Trudeau’s office is saying his safari is designed to strengthen relations with […]

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Canadian premier Justin Trudeau this week embarks on his first Africa visit since becoming premier.

He’ll visit Ebola for talks with Africa’s only woman president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and move to Madagascar for the summit of French speaking countries.

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Premier Justin Trudeau’s office is saying his safari is designed to strengthen relations with African countries and advance issues like the rights of women and girls, health, and peace and security.

Canada and Benin are co-sponsoring a resolution at the Francophonie summit against child brides and forced marriage.

Canada has given $24 million in development aid to Liberia and pitched in to the tune of $130 million to fight the Ebola outbreak two year ago that struck Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

 

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Around Africa https://jjcornish.com/2016/07/around-africa/ Mon, 11 Jul 2016 22:00:00 +0000 https://jjcornish.com/2016/07/around-africa/   Angola’s halved its annual growth forecast to 1,3% and cuts spending as lower oil prices hammer Africa’s second largest producer. West African AID activists say treatment is lagging for HIV AIDS sufferers. In Ivory Coast, fewer than a third of HIV AIDS infected patients are receiving antiretroviral treatment. Sierra Leone football star Sheriff Suma […]

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Angola’s halved its annual growth forecast to 1,3% and cuts spending as lower oil prices hammer Africa’s second largest producer.

West African AID activists say treatment is lagging for HIV AIDS sufferers.

In Ivory Coast, fewer than a third of HIV AIDS infected patients are receiving antiretroviral treatment.

Sierra Leone football star Sheriff Suma urges his compatriots attending the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro not to abscond.

Thirteen of Suma’s teammates at the world youth championship in Finland 13 years ago requested political asylum.

Sierra Leone has a record of sportsmen attending international competitions refusing to go home afterwards.

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