With Sierra Leone in the midsts of a three-day lockdown, Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr took time out to speak to France24. As city authority Mayor Aki-Sawyerr is focused to help the most vulnerable residents with the help of partners by providing more water to those communities in most need. Social distancing does not work when you live seven to a room, 11 to a room, she says. What makes sense is to focus on the hands: wash your hands regularly. If you can’t keep a meter away from someone, keep control of your hands. Aki-Sawyerr continues that the city is doing what it can by providing more water to working class communities. The population in Sierra Leone are more attuned to the challenges and open to the messaging of washing your hands. The message resonates more with the people. What we see as a challenge as we go forward is to ensure that we as a city and the national government are enabling people; 47% of the population does not have access to running water, as government those gaps need to be filled very quickly. Aki-Sawyerr is focused to keep the engagement with communities strong to raise awareness on prevention measurements. Watch the full interview.
