SYNC
This is traditional health care in Sierra Leone.A local witch doctor sprays perfume in his patients’ eyes.It is his treatment for severe mental illness.
This kind of healthcare is the norm. On the day I visited Pa Bassi the witch doctor he told me he had ten patients waiting to see him.
Can you ask him what he’s doing?’
‘For make their head clear’
He is saying that is good for the brain to make them have a clear conscience.’
My son disappeared and ran away to Freetown. For 3 months my son was living on the street, behaving badly. I was ashamed of him and I was ashamed of his behaviour and even made enquiries about him. I made arrangements and took my son to Pa Bassi at night.
This woman brought her son to be treated two months ago
But there is a practical reason why his mother has brought him here – she doesn’t have to pay.
I had no money so I had to beg to leave my son here ….
Whatever I can afford.
Sierra Leone receives more money in aid per capita from the UK than anywhere else in Africa. In 2005 the country’s total support from abroad amounted to over 300 million dollars.But five years after the war 70% of the population live below the poverty line. I’ve come to find out why when so much money is going in to the country, so little seems to be improving.
Exterior Gvs of Kissy hospital
After the trauma of a decade long civil war tackling psychiatric illness is one of Sierra Leone’s most urgent health needs. It’s been estimated that nearly 40% of the population have mental health problems. But at the only psychiatric hospital in the country there is just one qualified psychiatrist and two psychiatric nurses. Patients here don’t have to pay for treatment. But they are admitted as a last resort.
I was told most of the patients were suffering with drug-induced psychosis – for some this is the legacy of a bloody conflict in which many combatants were given drugs to induce them to carry out atrocities.
Some of these patients were chained day and night. There are simply not enough trained staff to deal with the kind of problems they have. And as many of them are a danger to themselves or to others the doctor in charge feels he has no option.
Jineo has been brought in by The Kanu family for treatment after he had attacked their mother. They are deeply distressed. They think he may have been taking drugs.
A few days later Sahid Kanu returned to the hospital to visit his brother.
Sahid Kanu: He says he is feeling pain in his neckHe is not feeling bright, the system the food I am so tormented I don’t really know what to do I am worried about him this my brother I don’t like to see him like this really you know. ‘
Edward Nahim runs the hospital. He trained in Russia and Britain and he’s a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK. I joined him on his weekly rounds.
Dr Edward Nahim:Most of them are ex-soldiers and it is drugs that brought them here.
Many doctors in Sierra Leone leave the country as soon as they qualify. He’s stayed for thirty years. He should have retired - but there is no one to replace him.
2.5 million dollars of foreign aid has recently been given to this hospital – but conditions here are still hard. It has been difficult to improve standards of care.
ASTON: Dr Edward Nahim Consultant PsychiatristAcceptable treatment depends on what is available … they are all prisons.’
GVS rubbish dumps – people sitting around 30” GVs of Freetown 20” from – Tape 15 23.39 - 30.23 There is hope in Christ sign.
GV’s of exterior of church
The shortcomings in healthcare in Sierra Leone extend far beyond the treatment of mental illness. Average life expectancy is just 41. Half the population is under-nourished. A quarter of all children die before the age of five and with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world women in Sierra Leone are desperate to ensure that they and their children survive.
At this evangelical church in Freetown a special service claims to protect women and unborn babies from the dangers they face in pregnancy.
Tape HC 3Pastor preachingInterior of service – women lying on the floor
‘Jesus Jesus’
GVs of calendar Pictures of Esther on Tape HC 4 30.16
The church sells an anointed calendar to help with labour and all kinds of birth problems. This young mother bought one after developing complications.
Tape HC 422.43 – 26.40 ASTON: Esther Kamara I was calling Jesus Jesus. Then I put the calendar on my belly after that I delivered.
Pix of church
Esther is … The pastor is clear about what he has to offer.
ASTON: Pastor David Bangura We should know that there are problems that doctors cannot solve the problem of demons. No matter how powerful the ex ray machine is you cannot see any demonic attending. The power of God can see and cast the demons out.
Esther: The hospital that I went to we have to pay 12,000. After that, 5,000 each time we attend.Is it better to come to the church instead?
Yes. The church offers divine help to the pregnant women that flock here but the calendar that Esther bought costs nearly twice the average daily wage. But she says going to the doctor cost her a lot more than that.
In Sierra Leone most people have to pay for health care under a privatised system. In theory what this means is that a small sum is paid for treatment. But in practice the amounts charged are often far beyond the means of people in this poverty stricken country. Although the most vulnerable are supposed to be exempted from payment it was a common experience amongst the people that I met to be asked for money.
ASTON:Jonathan HefferHead of Mission 2005 – 2006 Medecins sans Frontiers The status of the population is that they cannot afford to pay for healthcare and so those most vulnerable groups like children under five and pregnant women simply cannot afford to access healthcare
Tape HC1Empty Gov wards Mix through to Busy MSF wards
In this Government hospital many of the beds are empty.MSF operate two wards here. Their beds are full. But then - the treatment’s free.
Tape HC 7 Minister of Health set ups 20”
So when I caught up with the Minister of Health and her entourage including a Nigerian film star during an official visit to a hospital in the capital. I asked her if she was concerned.
Tape HC 7 18.20 – 19.15
ASTON: Mrs Abator Thomas Minister of Health and SanitationPregnant women they get their drugs free ‘… The government has taken care of a good proportion of the population and even not within the vulnerable groups – if they say they have no money they are treated free of charge.
But the perception remains that healthcare is too expensive.
But as I said a lot of doctors will treat patients free of charge. If it’s the Government why not get it free?
Despite what the Minister says, the reality is that many of the population are still going without basic healthcare. Aid agencies are stepping into the breach.
Tape HC8 03.33 Jonathan Heffer:We would expect the national health structures to have addressed these issues … this long after the war.
GV’s of 20”Freetown
This is a country rich in natural resources, but for its people little has improved since the end of the war, five years ago. With some aid agencies finally preparing to leave - there’s a real danger that life could be about to get a lot worse.
This is traditional health care in Sierra Leone.A local witch doctor sprays perfume in his patients’ eyes.It is his treatment for severe mental illness.
This kind of healthcare is the norm. On the day I visited Pa Bassi the witch doctor he told me he had ten patients waiting to see him.
Can you ask him what he’s doing?’
‘For make their head clear’
He is saying that is good for the brain to make them have a clear conscience.’
My son disappeared and ran away to Freetown. For 3 months my son was living on the street, behaving badly. I was ashamed of him and I was ashamed of his behaviour and even made enquiries about him. I made arrangements and took my son to Pa Bassi at night.
This woman brought her son to be treated two months ago
But there is a practical reason why his mother has brought him here – she doesn’t have to pay.
I had no money so I had to beg to leave my son here ….
Whatever I can afford.
Sierra Leone receives more money in aid per capita from the UK than anywhere else in Africa. In 2005 the country’s total support from abroad amounted to over 300 million dollars.But five years after the war 70% of the population live below the poverty line. I’ve come to find out why when so much money is going in to the country, so little seems to be improving.
Exterior Gvs of Kissy hospital
After the trauma of a decade long civil war tackling psychiatric illness is one of Sierra Leone’s most urgent health needs. It’s been estimated that nearly 40% of the population have mental health problems. But at the only psychiatric hospital in the country there is just one qualified psychiatrist and two psychiatric nurses. Patients here don’t have to pay for treatment. But they are admitted as a last resort.
I was told most of the patients were suffering with drug-induced psychosis – for some this is the legacy of a bloody conflict in which many combatants were given drugs to induce them to carry out atrocities.
Some of these patients were chained day and night. There are simply not enough trained staff to deal with the kind of problems they have. And as many of them are a danger to themselves or to others the doctor in charge feels he has no option.
Jineo has been brought in by The Kanu family for treatment after he had attacked their mother. They are deeply distressed. They think he may have been taking drugs.
A few days later Sahid Kanu returned to the hospital to visit his brother.
Sahid Kanu: He says he is feeling pain in his neckHe is not feeling bright, the system the food I am so tormented I don’t really know what to do I am worried about him this my brother I don’t like to see him like this really you know. ‘
Edward Nahim runs the hospital. He trained in Russia and Britain and he’s a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK. I joined him on his weekly rounds.
Dr Edward Nahim:Most of them are ex-soldiers and it is drugs that brought them here.
Many doctors in Sierra Leone leave the country as soon as they qualify. He’s stayed for thirty years. He should have retired - but there is no one to replace him.
2.5 million dollars of foreign aid has recently been given to this hospital – but conditions here are still hard. It has been difficult to improve standards of care.
ASTON: Dr Edward Nahim Consultant PsychiatristAcceptable treatment depends on what is available … they are all prisons.’
GVS rubbish dumps – people sitting around 30” GVs of Freetown 20” from – Tape 15 23.39 - 30.23 There is hope in Christ sign.
GV’s of exterior of church
The shortcomings in healthcare in Sierra Leone extend far beyond the treatment of mental illness. Average life expectancy is just 41. Half the population is under-nourished. A quarter of all children die before the age of five and with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world women in Sierra Leone are desperate to ensure that they and their children survive.
At this evangelical church in Freetown a special service claims to protect women and unborn babies from the dangers they face in pregnancy.
Tape HC 3Pastor preachingInterior of service – women lying on the floor
‘Jesus Jesus’
GVs of calendar Pictures of Esther on Tape HC 4 30.16
The church sells an anointed calendar to help with labour and all kinds of birth problems. This young mother bought one after developing complications.
Tape HC 422.43 – 26.40 ASTON: Esther Kamara I was calling Jesus Jesus. Then I put the calendar on my belly after that I delivered.
Pix of church
Esther is … The pastor is clear about what he has to offer.
ASTON: Pastor David Bangura We should know that there are problems that doctors cannot solve the problem of demons. No matter how powerful the ex ray machine is you cannot see any demonic attending. The power of God can see and cast the demons out.
Esther: The hospital that I went to we have to pay 12,000. After that, 5,000 each time we attend.Is it better to come to the church instead?
Yes. The church offers divine help to the pregnant women that flock here but the calendar that Esther bought costs nearly twice the average daily wage. But she says going to the doctor cost her a lot more than that.
In Sierra Leone most people have to pay for health care under a privatised system. In theory what this means is that a small sum is paid for treatment. But in practice the amounts charged are often far beyond the means of people in this poverty stricken country. Although the most vulnerable are supposed to be exempted from payment it was a common experience amongst the people that I met to be asked for money.
ASTON:Jonathan HefferHead of Mission 2005 – 2006 Medecins sans Frontiers The status of the population is that they cannot afford to pay for healthcare and so those most vulnerable groups like children under five and pregnant women simply cannot afford to access healthcare
Tape HC1Empty Gov wards Mix through to Busy MSF wards
In this Government hospital many of the beds are empty.MSF operate two wards here. Their beds are full. But then - the treatment’s free.
Tape HC 7 Minister of Health set ups 20”
So when I caught up with the Minister of Health and her entourage including a Nigerian film star during an official visit to a hospital in the capital. I asked her if she was concerned.
Tape HC 7 18.20 – 19.15
ASTON: Mrs Abator Thomas Minister of Health and SanitationPregnant women they get their drugs free ‘… The government has taken care of a good proportion of the population and even not within the vulnerable groups – if they say they have no money they are treated free of charge.
But the perception remains that healthcare is too expensive.
But as I said a lot of doctors will treat patients free of charge. If it’s the Government why not get it free?
Despite what the Minister says, the reality is that many of the population are still going without basic healthcare. Aid agencies are stepping into the breach.
Tape HC8 03.33 Jonathan Heffer:We would expect the national health structures to have addressed these issues … this long after the war.
GV’s of 20”Freetown
This is a country rich in natural resources, but for its people little has improved since the end of the war, five years ago. With some aid agencies finally preparing to leave - there’s a real danger that life could be about to get a lot worse.