October 06, 2014

Sitting on the dock of a bay

located:	Sierra Leone
editor:	Murat Suner

Since August 9 a shipping container loaded with medical equipment to treat Ebola in Sierra Leone is awaiting clearance by the government in the country's capital Freetown according to a published report by the New York Times.

The Times reports that the shipment was organized by Chernoh Alpha Bah, an opposition politician in Sierra Leone. A government official told the paper that approval of the shipment may have been delayed to prevent the opposition from scoring political points about their response to the outbreak.

According to the NYT the shipping fee for the container had not been paid by the Sierra Leone government, resulting in three other other containers of supplies being kept at the docks by the shipping company. Government officials disputed the fee before arguing that proper shipping protocols had not been followed.

Sierra Leone's health officials have been overwhelmed by the Ebola outbreak. However, some say the case of the delayed container seems to be an illustration of how government corruption has undermined efforts to fight the disease as well.

According to government officials Sierra Leone has received more than 40 million $ in cash donations to help fight Ebola. Earlier, health ministry officials had to face corruption charges due to misappropriation of vaccination funds.