Licking Lassa Fever in Sierra Leone

About Us

Soroptimist International (SI) is an organisation of women, from different professions, ages, races, religions, countries and cultures but all of us have a social conscience, which is why we joined Soroptimist International, a worldwide organisation for women in management and professions, working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women.

SI Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) is one of four federations worldwide whilst SI Wales South (SIWS) is a region within SIGBI. Licking Lassa Fever is our regional project.

Water use and subsistence farming

Water use and subsistence farming

The Project

To establish community education and environmental programmes in communities in Sierra Leone.

What we can do

  • Provide clean water and effective sanitation through new wells and latrines,
  • Provide rat-resistant food storage containers and water bottles,
  • Provide tools and seeds for villagers to grow their own food, and
  • Provide outreach workers to teach villagers how to combat this disease and help themselves.

The Partners

  • The World Health Organisation is working at a strategic level in the area.
  • The British & Sierra Leone Red Cross Societies are the implementation partners.
  • Soroptimist International Wales South is the fundraising partner, working with SI Freetown as our local representation.

What Soroptimist International of South Wales can do to help:

With our partners:

  1. Develop and implement effective community outreach programmes which address clean water supply, effective sanitation, effective food production and storage, healthy diets in local communities and use of condoms;
  2. Increase the knowledge and awareness of local communities regarding Lassa Fever and other communicable diseases in order to prevent disease and where it occurs to increase earlier presentation of clinical cases as well as decrease the social isolation experienced by people who contract the disease, and of their families;
  3. Decrease the incidence/prevalence and mortality rates of Lassa Fever, acute diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and malnutrition in programme areas.

This will be demonstrated through:

  1. Increasing the number and distribution of safe food storage facilities, potable water supplies and latrines;
  2. Lowering the infant mortality rate, the under fives mortality rate and the maternal mortality ratio;
  3. Decreasing the incidence/prevalence and mortality rates of Lassa Fever and other communicable diseases.