The health sector in Sierra Leone is gaining significant global reputation for supporting other African nations to respond to public health outbreaks, especially viral hemorrhagic fevers. The country recently sent its medical doctors to help the Republic of Rwanda fight the Marburg Virus Outbreak. Now, different countries are showing interest in visiting Sierra Leone with the primary objective of learning best practices in improving maternal and child heath, vaccines and immunization services as well as health emergency preparedness and response capabilities.
The Minister of Health of the Republic of Liberia, Dr. Louise M. Kpoto along with a 30-man delegation from her ministry, last week visited Sierra Leone to exchange knowledge and share ideas on ways of improving health outcomes for citizens of the two sister countries.
The main objective of Dr. Kpoto’s visit, among other things, was to understand how Sierra Leone’s healthcare system continues to make major strides in reducing maternal and infant mortalities, much to the admiration of the international community, as well as improvement in vaccine uptake and immunization services.
One of the first official engagements of the delegation was to join the Vice President, Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, and the Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, to inspect the huge investment made in renewable solar energy solutions at the Princess Christian Maternity (PCMH) and Ola During Children’s Hospitals in Freetown.
Before now, the electricity situation at both Ola During and PCMH was very dire. Babies were dying in the intensive care unit (ICU) each time there was a power outage. This was one of the major contributors to the increase in maternal and child deaths in the country. But things are changing for the better, if not the best. Both facilities can now boast of renewable solar energy with plans well underway to expand access.
The Vice President, Dr. Juldeh Jalloh, expressed great satisfaction and pride in the massive electricity transformation taking place at both facilities.
“This solar electrification project is going to change the landscape of our health sector by greatly improving the quality of care in these facilities and increasing the wellbeing and survival rates of pregnant women and newborn babies.”
At PCMH, a facility that provides care to over 15000 patients every year with the majority of them being pregnant women. TheM number of maternal deaths has been slashed drastically, from 17 in March 2024 alone to just 2 in September. This represents an encouraging 11.7% reduction. The health workers have now set a target of zero maternal deaths. All these are made possible through the availability of a reliable energy supply.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, summarized the impact of the renewable energy investment at these facilities.
“There is a real transformation happening in these facilities and this is evident in the number of safe deliveries and the level of excitement among patients and staff. We are very proud of these improvements, and we are determined to replicate these success stories in other parts of the country.”
For the Liberian Minister of Health, it was eye-opening to see firsthand how renewable energy solutions could contribute to real change in the service delivery of hospitals. Among other activities, the delegation later joined their counterparts in Sierra Leone to witness the launch of the country’s first National Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for Maternal and Child Health. This center will be the hub for all issues related to maternal and child health.
Of particular interest also was to understand how Sierra Leone has managed to successfully integrate its health security at the National Public Health Agency, (NPHA) and continues to make critical gains in primary health care.
Very recently, Sierra Leone has been receiving high-profile delegations from the health ministries of different African countries with the most recent being from Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea, among others. These visits have been centered around the exchange of ideas on how to build on the gains achieved in the health sector to strengthen the global South-South collaboration for better health outcomes for the African people.