By Jonathan Abass Kamara
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo has officially launched the World Bank Global Financing Facility programme for Sierra Leone at the Bintumani Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo
Addressing stakeholders and participants at the launching and opening ceremony on Monday January 23, 2017 at the three day Draft Reproductive Maternal Neonatal Child and Adolescents Health meeting, Dr. Kargbo described the Global Financing Facility World Bank support programme as a multi-stakeholder partnership that assist countries to improve the health of women, children and adolescents.
Group photo of Ministry of Health officials, World Bank team and stakeholders
He reiterated that the event is a welcoming opportunity, noting that Sierra Leone is fortunate to be among the few countries accepted into the Global Financing Facility (GFF). “It does this by financing high impact evidence base interventions to improve health outcomes, catalyze new investment from both private and public sources and helping countries develop their own more sustainable financing mechanism”, opined the Chief Medical Officer.
Dr. Kargbo observed that participants during the three days meeting would be deliberating on sessions related to use of civil registration and statistics for health, different models of district service delivery, multi-sectoral approaches to health with colleagues from the Education, Social Welfare and Environment sectors on financing and monitoring to ensure quality and sustainability.
He added that he sees the GFF as both a new spur with new investment and ideas, as well as a way to improve coordination and synergies around financing the health aspect of women, children and adolescents, and urged stakeholders present to work with the Directorate of Reproductive and Child Health on finalizing the strategy. Dr. Kargbo further encouraged GFF members and non-members to coordinate their support around the strategy and government associated systems with a view to ensuring that the collective efforts are aligned. With this, the Chief Medical Officer said government will be able to take full ownership and accountability for results.
The World Bank Acting Country Manager, Mr. Sheikh Sesay reiterated the World Bank’s commitment to ensure progress made in the activities of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, especially in the area of promoting maternal, newborn, child and adolescents health.
World Bank Acting Country Manager, Mr. Sheikh Sesay
He mentioned other support on research work, nutrition, water and sanitation and on other essential health services.
In his remarks the World Bank Task Team Manager, Mr. Shiyong Wang spoke on four ongoing World Bank’s operations in the country which he said includes resilient health systems for primary health care and plans to review the challenges and gaps to improve the health system in terms of maternal and infant mortality rates.
The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Anders Nordstrom reminded his audience about the President’s clarion call for the reduction of maternal and child mortality, and the need to implement lessons learned during the Ebola outbreak, adding that there are couple of components learnt that could be utilize as strategy with the clear vision the Ebola has provided.
WHO Country Representative, Dr. Anders Nordstrom
Dr. Nordstrom underscored the importance of improved data from countries to provide accurate and credible reports that would strengthen logistics support and supplies, key investigations and output on service delivery.
Giving the objectives, the Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Dr. Santigie Sesay said the meeting aimed at sharing progress, and presents to stakeholders the Draft Strategy; review and prioritize proposed strategies and key actions, and develop specific activities for costing reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child health and adolescent strategy, and to introduce and launch the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in Sierra Leone.
Director of Reproductive and Child Health, Dr. Santigie Sesay
Other main highlights include statements from the USAID Country Coordinator, Khadijat Mojidi, Deputy UNICEF Country Representative, Madam Sanchu Lattouf, and presentation on GFF governance at Global level by Madam Janet Kayita.
