Commentary
By Amadu Massally, USA.
On Saturday June 14, 2008 a new partnership was formed between the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora as a result of a teleconference co-hosted and co-moderated by Sierra Leone Network members Amadu Massally and Abdul Iscandari.
According to the Hon. Minister Dr. Soccoh Kabia, he was visiting the US on the behalf of the President who was unable to travel to a high level annual meeting on HIV/AIDS as he was hosting former Prime Minister Tony Blair in Freetown. So while here he made it a case in point to reach out to the SL Diaspora in the US.
We were privileged to get first hand information from Dr. Kabia as he identified the scarcity of human resources in the sector: “8 surgeons in the entire country, 5 pediatricians, 7 aestheticians and gynecologists, 7 physician specialists, 1 psychiatrist, 225 nurses, 67 or so midwives - a dire situation in terms of personnel,” he commented.
He especially begged for Oncologists or anyone with Oncology experience. Not by coincidence there was one, Ms. Aisie Harris on the call. An oncology nurse by practice, she promised to help us get some oncology presence in the country.
Some other issues he mentioned include the following:
Absence of clean water,
Sporadic electricity,
Absence of labs,
Inadequate supplies,
Low staff moral across the healthcare industry.
Fake drugs on the streets, and
Fake doctors in the country.
The Minister commented on some of the worse morbidity and mortality rates in the world. More women are dying when giving birth and more children are dying before age five in Sierra Leone than any other country in the world.
Malaria is the greatest killer of course, as about 35% of the deaths in the country are related to it. Other killers of Sierra Leoneans he mentioned include pneumonia and other upper respiratory illnesses; diarrhea and malnutrition. All of these combined, account for approximately 75% of all morbidity and mortality cases in the country, he said. All of them, preventable!
When a question was posed to him on how does his Ministry plan to resolve all these problems, the Minister had this to say: “Prioritize, and offer solutions that are realistic and effective at the same time... That is the role of the ministry.” He also mentioned briefly the financial constraints that his ministry faces.
He sounded encouraged in spite of all the shortcomings when he added the following: “Having said that, the situation is not hopeless... and we can turn it around. I have been going around using the opportunity to muster support... to [help us] turn the corner.”.
The Diaspora and Dr. Soccoh Kabia agreed on the following key things, deemed action items, in carving the way forward and the vital next steps:
Health Committee - We will create a Health Committee so we can organize and get a clear picture as to what a group of people with a common interest (a healthcare community of practice) can best proceed.
Human Resources and Equipment - These two are, undisputedly, the greatest of needs of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. He mentioned that physicians, nurses, technicians, etc. are all much needed. He said: “We have to build the capacity for human resources, institutions and facilities, equipment, etc.”
Strategic Plan - He wanted to get an understanding of what is available from the Diaspora. In response to this, those of us representing the Diaspora requested that the Minister share his strategic plan with the proposed committee or network and we can use that as our guiding principle to meeting his needs. He agreed to that.
Private Investors and/or NGOs - The Minister wants us to look for private investors in the healthcare field or NGOs even, who they may not be aware of to “plug” them into the Ministry of Health as best as possible. Many of us already have connections or work for some of these potential donors or partners.
Abdul Iscandari, in closing, let the Minister know that we expect him to go back and let other ministers know that there are people in the Diaspora who care about our country and who want to do something to help if even not from the ground.
In conclusion and to show evidence that some of these things are quite doable by ordinary Sierra Leoneans, we want to point to the new, and one and only dialysis equipment in the entire country that was recently brought to our attention: http://www.bamdialysis.com/services.html
It’s possible folks! We’ve got to believe... Anyone with any means of assisting our country through the healthcare sector should contact the author.
Acknowledgments:
Many thanks to the Minister, Hon. Dr. Soccoh Kabia, in taking the initiative to reach out and provide an opportunity to dialog with the Diaspora; to all the active participants (Aisha Conteh, Adeyemi Coker, Sheikh Mohamed Tunis, George Wilson, Dr. Streeter (Chaytor), Dr. Palmer, Isata Kabia, Ms. Harris, DJ Hedd who recorded the program, and my co-host, Abdul Iscandari) who took time off their busy schedules to participate in this important nation-building activity; the many others who just called in to listen; and to Georgina Awoonor-Gordon of the Sierra Leone Diaspora Network, who initiated contact between the Minister and Amadu Massally, via email. A classic example of civil society members in the Diaspora working together toward common nation-building goals! Because UNITED WE STAND!
===============================================
The author, Amadu Massally, is a civil society activist who is a member of the Sierra Leone Network and founder of the Sierra Leone-Gullah Heritage Association. He would like to see a relationship developed between the efforts of Diaspora Sierra Leoneans and those at home under the auspices of a strong civil society. Anyone with any means of assisting our country through the healthcare sector should contact the author at amadu.massally@gmail.com or saloneamadu@gmail.com.
Comments