President Julius Maada Bio has on Sunday November 21, 2020, turned the sod for the construction of an ultra-modern hospital in the Jojoima township, the chiefdom headquarter of Malema Chiefdom in the Kailahun District.
Welcoming the entourage, Paramount Chief Lamin Pamly Ngevao thanked President Bio for visiting the chiefdom, adding that that particular visit was so historic that his people in the chiefdom would live to appreciate and celebrate it in many years to come.
He also thanked Bintu Jibao, founder and coordinator of the Women in Agriculture project in the district, for helping his chiefdom by bringing in the initiative that was now providing job opportunities for many of the young women in that part of the country, thereby complementing government’s efforts in ensuring food self-sufficiency.
Giving an overview of the hospital project, Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Dr Thomas Samba, disclosed that the structure would be an ultra-modern 45-bed facility with a unit to cater for pregnant women and lactating mothers and their children and a laboratory unit for tests, a blood bank unit, a surgery and an isolation unit that would be used in an event of an emergency outbreak.
He continued by saying that the hospital would have a morgue facility and staff quarter that would host doctors and nurses.
“This is a project that will support the President’s agenda in human capital development,” he noted.
Minister of Health and Sanitation, Professor Alpha Tejan Wurie, commended the people for their willingness to own the project, stating that the people of Jojoima were very progressive. He noted that the hospital would serve all purposes, just like any other hospital in the big towns and cities.
Before the turning of the sod, President Bio said that he was happy to be with the people of Jojoima, adding that he was particularly appreciative of their support for his government and their belief in the New Direction agenda. He said he was excited to turn the sod for the construction of the hospital for people in that part of the creator.
“As a leader of this great nation, I am of the view that the handwork of my government should be felt in every district of the country. I am doing so because you the people are at the centre of my leadership. This is why I am here today to turn the sod for the construction of a hospital that will be of great help for the entire chiefdom and even beyond,” he said.
President Bio also encouraged them to embrace the free quality education programme that his government was providing, noting that more emphasis should be placed on the girl child.
“Parents should allow their children to go to school and should discourage their communities from giving them into early marriages. When a girl child is educated there will be a rapid growth in the development of that community or locality,” he urged.
25/11/2020. ISSUE NO: 7957