By Mohamed Sankoh
The Ministry of Health in collaboration with partners have started a three-day health summit with the theme: ‘’Improving Health Outcomes for All: Every Sierra Leonean Life Matters’’. The dialogue summit is held at the Bintumani Conference Center Aberdeen in Freetown which focuses to review the status of the health sector in alignment with the national and international goals, the gender mainstreaming and identify key challenges and opportunities within the health sector to leverage for better health for all.
However, the following will be expected from the health summit including a clear set of policy recommendations, strengthening partnerships, commitment to funding priorities and implementation timelines, enhanced coordination mechanisms as well as recognizing and rewarding the commitment demonstrated within the health sector. According to the Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby the Ministry is transforming the vision of President Bio on the health sector through positive health service delivery, while the summit also serves as a reminder to identify key gaps on the health sector. He said the health summit is also a reflection to our values, oneness, hence focuses on achieving the ‘’Universal Health Coverage’’. Dr. Demby further said the summit is part of the Human Capital Development to achieve the big five game changers. He averts that Mpox is not just a disease, but a test to us Sierra Leoneans as there are strategies being made to curtail the spread of Mpox including the trust fund strategy which will be used as a fund to fight the Mpox.
He urged partners to work in line with government goals and the summit to be a turning point to achieve and eradicate the Mpox sick and determined for circumstances of other diseases and launched the Sierra Leone Hospital Strategy among two other strategies.
In his statement, the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sartie M Kenneh said as part of efforts to ensure the health is improve, the primary, and district and chiefdom level including polices like the Medium-Term National Development Plan are crucial steps in achieving.
He said 92 percent of government allocation goes into the health, while the Ministry also focuses on disease burden and malaria prevalence which account for 22 percent, adding that the Ministry had also improved on infrastructure, improve nourishment and sustain immunization for children and expanded sexual health and safe spaces for adolescents.
Victor Lansana Koroma, the Executive Director Health Alert said that the civil society are aware of the current health challenges including the Mpox. He said although government has made efforts in recruiting additional health workers, yet there are still funding gap which he describes as challenge. He called on the President to ammonize salaries for nurses and doctors who are currently receiving small salaries, and that drugs are still a challenge in the hospitals as out of pocket payment is in the increase at hospital level. He continued that there is a need to bring in the private sector in order to achieve the goals of the sector.
