Sierra Leone: Government inaugurates over 40 upgraded health facilities

 

The high table during the official launching ceremony in Kenema

By Kemo Cham

Efforts to cut down on the rate of maternal and infant deaths in Sierra Leone have received a major boost with the inauguration of a nationwide rehabilitation work on health facilities.

The EU-funded project launched last year involved the expansion and rehabilitation of 47health structures across 11 of the 14 districts nationwide. The facilities include paediatric wards, major hospitals, as well as district medical stores.

The project initially launched last December is valued at EUR 23 million. It is implemented by the UN children’s agency, UNICEF. Details of it entails upgrading three major health facilities to enable

them provide comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services in the three districts of Bo in the south, Kenema in the east, and Koinadugu in the north. Similar works were done on smaller health facilities in Kurubonla in Koinadugu, Tombodu in the eastern Kono district, Konsho in the northern Bombali district, and Bumbuna in the northern Tonkolili district in to provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care services.

The project is part of the government’s Ebola recovery plan. Over 1 million women and over 600, 000 children will directly benefit of the services, officials said.

Kenema, which was among the hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic which claimed nearly 4000 lives in the country, had its paediatric hospital expanded to accommodate 70 beds from 40 beds.

Officials also said the project was first conceived earlier in 2013 when a joint assessment team of Health ministry and UNICEF officials carried out inspections on over 60 facilities that carried out basic emergency obstetric care, district, as well as hospital medical stories, with the view of identifying which one needed improvement.

President Ernest Bai Koroma presided over the official launching of the scheme in the town of Kenema in the east of the country on February 5. He recalled one of his visits to the hospital in the eastern headquarters town and was appalled by the discovery of the poor state of its theater.

"I decided to go round to inaugurate these facilities because of the seriousness I attach to the health of our women and children," the president said, adding that the Ebola epidemic taught his government the important lesson of community people taking ownership of the health care system for efficient delivery.

The event represented an important milestone in the transformation of Sierra Leone’s health sector, said Peter Versteeg, Head of European Union Delegation in the country.

With the expansion of the facilities comes the need for more human resources, noted Joseph Samba Kaifala, Mayor of Kenema Town.

Accommodation is a particular need to encourage more doctors in the town.