By Mohamed Massaquoi
The Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation (1) has disclosed that frantic efforts have been made to address serious health challenges facing communities in Kailahun district, Eastern Sierra Leone.
Dr. Anyhony Sandy said Government has constructed a one hundred bed capacity maternity and pediatric complex at the Kailahun government hospital for lactating mothers and their children.
The Minister was speaking at the Kailahun District Council Hall on Thursday (13th August, 2020) during a one day consultative workshop on Decentralizing ownership of Sierra Leone’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) for effective implementation, organized by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.
Dr. Sandy said the Ministry of Health was playing a pivotal role in national development and that “the well-being of people is Paramount to the new Direction Government.”
He further maintained that his ministry was strongly focused in providing reliable and affordable healthcare facilities in the country adding that people of Kailahun would no longer travel to the Eastern district town of Kenema for basic medical attention as Kailahun district had got a triage centre, installed digital x-ray machine, renovate an eye cleanic with required medical equipment, rehabilated the District Medical Team complex among others.
The Minister further noted that Government was strongly bent on capacitating healthcare givers not only with the required training facilities, but also provided pincodes to 70 nurses in Kailahun district who were now receiving befitting salaries.
He explained that President Julius Maada Bio had given them the opportunity to employ 4000 Health workers and a good number of them would be nurses, doctors and other technical staff.
“I am very pleased to be here today and to outline the success stories in Kailahun district.
We have rehabilitated health facilities in Kwellu,Ngieya, Luawa, Baoma and Mobai township respectively.
We have also distributed besnets across the the district to fight against malaria.
This is a very huge achievement within this period.
Government is planning to do more so that our healthcare system will be improved,” he assured.
Similarly, Dr. Sandy handed over five trucks load of free healthcare drugs, one hundred delivery beds for pregnant woman, and other health commodities to the people of Kailahun.
He said the people of Kailahun should serve as watchdogs in order to ensure that the donated items reach out to the various communities.
