|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Claim: The tourism minister declared “no pollution in Sierra Leone” to attract tourists.
Verdict: False. Many health institutions have outlined different types of pollution in Sierra Leone that challenge health authorities.
Full Text
Sierra Leone is emerging worldwide as one of the pristine destinations to visit. In 2023, CNN listed Sierra Leone among the greatest places to visit.
Much work has shaped Sierra Leone as a destination for travelers worldwide. However, the official information about Sierra Leone’s freedom from pollution raises questions.
Last week, at the Fitur International Tourism fair in Madrid, Spain, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Tourism and Culture, Nabeela Tunis, was interviewed by a popular tourism channel, Voyage Afrique.
In a clip shared by the channel on its X handle, the minister claimed that Sierra Leone is a popular destination because it does not have pollution. She said so while outlining several reasons travellers should visit the country.
“It offers authenticity, the natural environment is something to die for, and there is no pollution in Sierra Leone,” Madam Tunis said.
Madam Tunis came into office over six months ago, when she was appointed to serve in the ministry, having served as Minister of Western Area and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Planning and Economic Development in the last five years.
Is Sierra Leone really without pollution?
Verification
DUBAWA reviewed reports on pollution from official government sources and other relevant authorities.
According to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone, pollution is among the top ten Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) that lead to death in the country. In a strategic plan that was done in 2020 to target NCDs, the ministry stated that:
“The top-ten risk factors for death and disability combined in Sierra Leone contain seven NCD risk factors: air pollution, high blood pressure, dietary risks, alcohol use, tobacco, high fasting plasma blood glucose and high body mass index.”
This contradicts the Minister of Tourism’s statement about the lack of pollution in the country.
However, three years after the strategic plan, a more recent assessment by the World Health Organization in 2023 stated that Sierra Leone’s air quality is eight times worse than the WHO-required standard. The scorecard also states that 52% of deaths from stroke and ischaemic diseases in Sierra Leone are caused by air pollution.
Air pollution is not the only environmental problem Sierra Leone faces. The country’s tourism sector is grappling with serious waste management issues, from plastic to seaweed. The Ministry of Tourism and other partners have frequently collaborated on efforts to clean beaches. Partners like the European Union have organised several beach clean-up efforts in collaboration with journalists to deal with plastic pollution.
Conclusion
Based on government documents and activities in which the Ministry of Tourism has also participated, the Minister of Tourism’s claim that “there is no pollution in Sierra Leone” is untrue.
