Noncommunicable diseases

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Sierra Leone: Red Cross community health volunteers support diagnosis of mystery illness

“It takes a village to raise a child,” as the proverb goes.Though it’s an old saying, the idea of an entire community looking out for the health, safety, and well-being of their children is still relevant today. And nowhere is it perhaps more evident than in the small village of Laya Dee, Sierra Leone.Unknown illness sparks concernAbu Dumbuya is a shy, yet smiley, teenager who lives with his parents and siblings in Laya Dee. Like most kids his age, he loves playing with his friends, going to school, and spending time with his family.Life was normal for Abu until one day, at age 14, he started developing worrying health symptoms.“He started to complain of joint pain in his knees and hips, pain all over. His eyes went yellow, and he was finding it difficult to use his hands,” explains Abu’s father, Saido.Abu was sent home from school due to the pain. Unsure of what the problem was, his parents first tried to treat him with traditional medicine, using local tree leaves boiled in water. When this didn’t help, they went to the local pharmacy where Abu was prescribed vitamin supplements. But the pain persisted.“I was so scared because I was in a lot of pain. I missed school because of the pain and was missing playing with my friends and having family time,” says Abu.Seeking answers, Abu’s parents sought health advice from a private health centre. But rather than receiving support, the health centre offered no explanation of what was wrong and demanded lots of money.At their wits’ end, Abu’s parents worried that Abu’s condition would deteriorate. But help came in the form of their local Sierra Leone Red Cross Society volunteer, Rebecca.Red Cross and community leaders rally togetherRebecca spoke to the family and knew something was seriously wrong with Abu. Straight away, she alerted her supervisor, Sorbeh, who in turn called the Sierra Leone Red Cross branch manager for Kambia district, Dominic, for back-up.“Dominic came and could see that Abu was in a very poor condition,” explains Rebecca.Having had a bad experience with the private health centre, Abu’s family felt nervous about visiting a health centre again. So while Sorbeh fetched a local nurse on his motorbike to come and tend to Abu at home, Dominic called upon the local community chiefs for help encouraging the family to seek proper treatment.After patient and sensitive discussion, Abu’s parents agreed Sorbeh could take him to the Community Health Centre. There, Abu finally received a proper diagnosis of sickle cell disease (SCD) —a genetic disorder that affects a person’s red blood cells — and several days of treatment.Continued support for a healthy lifeNow 16-years-old, Abu has had a much happier life since his diagnosis. Local Red Cross volunteers continue to accompany Abu for his regular check-ups at the health centre. His health has improved and he hasn’t experienced any sickle cell ‘crises’—periodic episodes of severe pain—in the past two years.“I am happy because I am back playing with my friends like normal,” says Abu.Abu’s older brother, Lamin, who is protective over his little brother, feels he is doing a lot better:“We feel good and very grateful to the supervisor for intervening. We want to share advice with all people in our village to go to the Red Cross for help – the Community Health Volunteer is here for us. If anything bad happens again, we know what to do.”For Rebecca, a native of Laya Dee, the support she provided to Abu’s family is all in a day’s volunteering.Trained through the USAID-funded Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Programme (CP3), she’s always there for her community—doing the rounds to check in on people and look out for signs of unusual health events.“I like it when I can give support to my community. People come to me. I’m the first person they reach out to and I love giving back to my community,” says Rebecca.To raise a child who is healthy and safe, it really does take a village. And all the better when that village has a Red Cross volunteer like Rebecca.--The support provided to Abu was made possible through the multi-country Community Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Programme (CP3).  Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), CP3 supports communities, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and other partners to prevent, detect and respond to disease threats. If you enjoyed this story and would like to learn more, sign up to the IFRC’s Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Newsletter or follow the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society on X.

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Yemen: When conflict comes with disaster or disease, cash assistance can save lives.

In the village of Khanfar, in Yemen’s Abyan governorate, 62-year-old Khamisa lives with her daughter and her daughter’s children. The two women can barely manage the family's daily needs, so what will happen now that illness joins their daily struggle to survive. “Conflict increased our suffering as women as we did not have any breadwinners, and conflict left us on a new journey of survival, where we had to face our pain and suffering alone,” Khamisa said. Yemen has long been one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and is now in the midst of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The country is now facing the world's largest food security emergency, with 20 million people – 66 per cent of the country's population - in need of humanitarian aid. Embroiled in conflict since early 2015, fighting has devastated its economy, leading to severe food insecurity and the destruction of critical infrastructure. Natural disasters have aggravated the crisis; the latest came in the form of tropical cyclone Tej, which made landfall over the southern coast of Al Mahrah Governorate recently, leaving more than 27,000 people internally displaced. And the ongoing conflict does not mean other chronic ailments take a break. In Khamisa’s case, it came in the form of cancer. “Before I became ill, we used to devote our time to the daily struggle of providing the basic necessities of life,” she says. “Following that, other challenges surfaced. Permanent fear and anxiety defined my life and my daughter’s, especially because of the difficulty of obtaining money for necessary medical examinations to find out the cause of my illness.” When even food is not the biggest priority Khamisa’s case shows us that the daily struggle to find food and drink may not be a priority for some people, as their main priority is getting medicine to stay alive. There are a few places where people can seek help as almost all basic services available in the country have collapsed. Khamisa and others like her see the cash assistance (offered by Yemen Red Crescent Society in partnership with the IFRC, ICRC and the British Red Cross) as a real lifeline. It gives Khamisa some hope and also helps her get to the hospital quickly, which unfortunately she must do on a regular basis. Her focus now is on ensuring her own survival to stand by her only daughter. “Our struggle stories never end,” she adds. “Our struggle is not only related to the continuous efforts to provide food and water but also related to dealing with sudden diseases in the absence of the necessary health care and sufficient support.” The power of choice 39-year-old Ahmed also lives in Khanfar with his sister, and his six children. He was working as a day laborer to provide for his family’s food needs and cover other medical and education requirements. But after Ahmed suffered from a heart disease, conditions began to gradually deteriorate. After becoming jobless, he spent all his savings trying to make sure his family had enough to eat, but what he saved from this work was not enough to cover his family’s needs. Ahmed told us that there were days when he went to bed hungry to save a little food for their children. Since the first cash distribution, Ahmed said that he was able to treat his illness and recover his health, and after the second cash distribution, he was able to open a grocery store which is now a permanent source of income. “I think it is better for aid to be given in cash rather than supplies,” Ahmed said. “The cash I received helped me to recover my health, and at the same time, it saved my source of income.”

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Non-communicable diseases

The IFRC, with the support of partners, works at the community, national and global levels to reduce people’s risk of contracting non-communicable diseases. Our approach promotes healthy choices and behaviours at all stages of a person’s life.

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