After delivering several projects in the country including the reconstructed of $1.6 million King Harman Road Satellite hospital, the Rokupa Government Hospital, etc.Engineer Patrick Cole of C. L. Groupof companies has bagged a new contract for the construction of a Training College for midwives in Kenema whichis estimatedat 11.1 Million United States Dollars.

Due to the several projects undertaking by engineer Patrick Cole of C. L. Group of Companies in the country, high confidence has now been established by government and other private sector entities that he is a contractor with integrity and a man who delivers on time.

The yet to be constructed midwifery health centre which sod was turned by the Hon. Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh past Friday 31st January, 2020is intended to strengthen the health sector in the eastern province.

Speaking to this reporter, Engineer Cole said the project will provide, radio station, male hostels and female hostels. The project will hopefully finish by December 2020 and the Islamic Develop Bank is sponsoring the project.

He promised that he will deliver the project by the timeline given and noted that he has delivered a lot of projects in time. “Project is a team work and I believed I have a good team to deliver,” he concluded.

He added that they have done over forty projects for the government successfully.

Speaking at the turning sod for the construction of the Training College for midwives in Kenema, the Director of Reproductive Health in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation Dr. Sartie Kenneh informed the public that the construction of the Training College for midwives in Kenema will cost 11.1 Million United States Dollars. He made the disclosure while giving an overview of the project during the turning of the sod ceremony organized by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Kenema on the 31st January, 2020.

He told the participants at the program that the aim of the project is to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in Sierra Leone, whilst elaborating that the objective is to provide improved quality maternal health system. He stated that the project will provide infrastructure, and train for over two hundred and fifty midwives, ten Medical Doctors, and a family radio station.

Matron Hussinatu Fullah who doubles as the Chief Nursing Officer, Ministry of Health described the turning of the sod as a step in the direction that will mitigate the high maternal, neonatal, infant and child mortality rates in Sierra Leone.
She told the audience that there was a significant reduction in maternal and child mortality rates in the year 2018, according to the Demographic Health Survey. She expressed hope that the construction of additional training institution for midwives leads to more achievement.

The Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Alpha Tejan Wurie told the gathering that government is continuity. He informed the people that lots of resources were tagged to

Ministry of Health and other sectors in Sierra Leone but the resources were not accessed in the past. He cited a project for the construction of eight mini-hospitals with theater for surgery in 2011 that were not accessed, but were accessed when he took over as Minister of Health in 2018. He lamented that the eight mini-hospitals have all been built in places like Tonko Limba, Gbinti and other places in Sierra Leone.

Minister Wurie informed the audience about the death of one thousand, one hundred and sixty five women of every one hundred thousand live birth during labour according to the 2013 Demographic Health Survey and the number increased to one thousand, three hundred and sixty in 2014.

He assured of the reduction of the number to seven hundred when the 2019 report was released.

He attributed the success to the major intervention like the ambulance service by his Ministry. Dr. Wurie explained that with the ambulance service, pregnant women can now access health facilities as fast as possible.

The Health Minister instructed the Chief Nursing Officer to immediately post midwives to all three hundred Community Health Centers in Sierra Leone, he stressed that the posting is a must now that nurses are enjoying remote allowances in addition to location and risk allowances that were introduced by the Government of Sierra Leone under the leadership of President Julius Maada Bio.

Dr. Mohammed Juldeh Jalloh, Vice President of Sierra Leone praised the Health Ministry for demonstrating unwavering commitment to support His Excellency President Bio's program on Human Capital Development. He noted that human capital is about saving lives. He named education, health and food security as the components of Human Capital Development.

He maintained that the health sector should be looked into seriously with focus on strengthening the health system. He explained the strengthening of the health system to mean building healthcare facilities and capacities in order to have the human resources that will deliver in the health sector. He therefore expressed Government of Sierra Leone’s expectation for the training institution to build the capacity required to support safe delivery, and reduced maternal and infant mortality rates.

The Honorable Vice President described the year 2020 as a year of accelerated delivery in Human Capital Development. He explained accelerated delivery to mean overcoming bureaucracies and deliver outcomes. Dr. Jalloh informed the public about the allocation of an increased budget of 11% to the health ministry and 22% to the education ministry to boost the Human Capital Development in Sierra Leone. "We will not allow undue bureaucracies to stand on the way of delivery,” he re-echoed.

Vice President Jalloh encouraged Ministry of Health to put in place an effective management of the facilities, so as to avoid a breakdown of equipment like the transmitter of the radio station after two years.