The Ministry of Health and Sanitation has handed over ten trucks load of drugs and medical items to health facilities in the North-Western region which comprises Kambia, Karene, and Port Loko districts.

The well attended handing over ceremony took place on Saturday, 27th July 2019, at the District Council office in Port Loko city, the regional headquarters. Also as part of the event was the deployment of twelve medical personnel of various cadres ranging from medical doctors to nurses belonging to the Technical Aid Core from the Federal Republic of Nigeria who will serve in government hospitals in the aforementioned region. They are the first batch of 80 medical personnel requested from the Nigerian government by its Sierra Leonean counterpart. The others will arrive in due course and will be subsequently assigned to hospitals across the country.

Minister of Health and Sanitation, Prof. Alpha TejanWurie while delivering the keynote address said government was working towards transforming the Port Loko Government Hospital into a regional hospital that will be the main referral for the entire region which is why concrete steps are being taken to upgrade its facilities.

According to the minister, the move is aimed at addressing the inadequate personnel challenge in the health sector for efficient service delivery. In light of the foregoing, the minister noted, they are in the process of recruiting 1,500 medical personnel (from January to June) whilst an additional 2,500 will be recruited between July and December this year, bringing the total to 4,000.

“The first batch recruitment will cover all Medical Doctors, all SRNs, all Lab Technicians, all CHOs. Health personnel who are not absorbed now are going to be trained further for one year in various specializations. 1,500 NCCHS will be recruited from the second batch of 2,500 who will be distributed across the country mainly to their places of origin to serve their people,” Prof. Wurie said, earning thunderous applause from the excited audience. He added that plans are afoot to bring in 150 to 200 medical personnel from Cuba to bolster the medical work force in the country.
Prof. Alpha Wurie informed that from 10% last year this government is now paying 30% of the cost of free healthcare drugs, adding that for the first time since 2012 government has started buying cost recovery drugs.

In addition to the trucks load of drugs and medical items, the Health Minister also distributed 8 motorbikes and twelve computers among the government hospitals in Port Loko city, Lungi, Kambia and Karene to enhance their operations.

Earlier, the Minister of Public and Political Affairs, Ambassador FodayYumkella formally welcomed the Nigerian medical team on behalf of government and His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio.

He said Nigeria is playing a big brother role in Africa, citing the war era when Nigerian troops came and sacrificed their lives here for the country to have peace. “Today again you are here to help save lives,” he noted.

The Resident Minister North-West HajaIsata Kamara highlighted the challenges faced by the health sector in that part of the country and pledged to vigorously monitor the distribution of the drugs and the other items to ensure they reach the intended beneficiaries.

The head of the National Medical Supply Agency which procures drugs on behalf of Ministries and Agencies, properly stores and distributes them across the country, Dr Lawrence Sandy, said the North-West region will also receive a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser that will be distributing the drugs to hospitals and PHUs (Public Health Units in the three districts.

He assured that henceforth, the Agency will be distributing drugs and medical items to hospitals nationwide every three months, noting that donor partners are very pleased with the performance of the Minister of Health and his team which is why they are now willing to give more support to the country to tackle its heath challenges.

Other speakers at the event were the District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Mamoud Kamara, the Chairman Port Loko District Council I.S. Bangura, the Port Loko District Council Deputy Mayor Zachariah Bangura, and the head of the parliamentary oversight committee on health Hon. Moses Baimba Jocque, all of whom eloquently spoke to the issue of improving the health sector in the North-West region.