AFRICA/SIERRA LEONE - Difficulty of access to deficient health facilities for 320,000 inhabitants of Pujehun

Pujehun (Agenzia Fides) - As soon as you enter the Pujehun district, located in the South Province, the asphalt ends and, with the rainy season, the road is full of holes and puddles, there are no links with rural areas, there is no bridge and one crosses the river on a raft. There are few cars, a few taxis, many poda poda (minivan loaded with people) motorbikes and bicycles, but when it rains, the 320,000 inhabitants of the district, with a density of 57 inhabitants per square kilometer, move on foot. These are some of the reasons that make access to hospitals in the area difficult, if not impossible, such as the one built in 2010, where the volunteers of Doctors for Africa CUAMM work, which is often without water. Then there is the Main Hospital which is the 'old' hospital. In the district there are 6 health centers and 72 peripherals unit that act as filters, many deliveries are carried out there and one goes to the hospital only for the most serious cases. In Pujehun the hospital is seen as the prelude to death, it is scary, many people do not go or arrive too late due to long distances to reach them. Among holes and other difficulties, there is a market, a football pitch and a volleyball court, schools, a church, a mosque, a prison and the hospital in the city. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2013)

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