By: Mamadi .M. Khonte and Augusta Koroma (Interns)
Freetown, April 1, 016 (MOHS) – The Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah, has said that the Health Care System has undergone significant transformation since the first Demographic Health Survey was conduct in 2008. He made this statement, during the launching of the Health Facilities and Laboratories Assessment Tool, on Thursday March 31, 2016, at the Ministry’s Conference room in Freetown.
Deputy Health and Sanitation Minister 1, Madam Madina Rahman launching
the document
Delivering his keynote address, Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah informed the audience that policies addressing population, Gender, Adolescent Reproductive Child Health, have been revised. The Minister further stated that in order to improve and strengthen the quality of both Primary and tertiary health care services his Ministry has developed new programmes. The exercise, he said is geared towards creating a supportive environment that would enable management, staff and supervisors to collectively identify critical areas that need urgent attention.
Health and Sanitation Minister, Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah
The Minister congratulated the new team of Supervisors for their initiative and reminded them that much is required of them. He admonished them to motivate their junior colleagues by supporting them in performing their jobs better. “You are not there to apportion blames, find faults or police them”, said the Honorable Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr. Abu Bakarr Fofanah.
He thanked all partners for supporting the Connaught, Ola During, Princes Christian Maternity {PCMH) hospitals Pilot project in Freetown and the Kambia Government Hospital.
Launching the Document, the Deputy Minister of Health l, Madam Madina Rahman said, there has been a quest for the improvement of health in the country, stating that health care is very important, as the country moves into the Post Ebola Recovery phase. She stated that what makes a resilient health system is the proper human resource for health.
Madam Madina Rahman encouraged nurses to be committed to their job, as nursing is a profession that deals with life.
Madam Madina Rahman mentioned that 85 percent or more of the health professionals in Sierra Leone are nurses and needs capacity building, noting that a resilience health system depends on human resource capacity for Health.
She reiterated that a whole building could be packed full of equipment and supply but remains very challenging if there is no human resource capacity for health to make it functional.
DR. JOAN SHEPHERD
The Principal, National School of Midwifery and Chairman for the occasion, Dr. Joan Shepherd underscored the importance of the launching, noting that it would help the health sector in promoting health care in the various health facilities, adding that the Ministry of Health and Sanitation is ever determined to make health care issues a priority. The Tool, she added is meant to test the health care facilities in Sierra Leone and to find out what is it that exit for women, children and men and to address the status of the Post Ebola from the assessment of services offered to the public.
The Tool for hospitals and laboratories, Dr. Shepherd maintained will also help to provide opportunity for the areas that needs improvement.
Other key speakers include the Chairman, Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Health, Dr. Abdul Sesay and the Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Dr. Santigie Sesay.
