By Dadson A. Musa

The eleven years of war had a devastating impact on our health care delivery in remote areas in the country. And the inadequacy of our health system was laid bare by the Ebola disease outbreak which was further compounded by the corona virus disease pandemic. Health is wealth and so there is this tendency to make it very expensive and can only be accessible by the rich. So, the government of Sierra Leone, in view of the poverty affecting the majority of the people especially in rural areas brought the free healthcare program targeting the vulnerable; women and children. Partners have also come in big time to address the areas that government of Sierra Leone is inadequate in. Things have changed in the health sector and they keep changing although so much still need to be accomplished. Comparatively, it is better in the city, Freetown and some provincial headquarter towns across the country but in the interior of the country, especially remote areas the job is far from done.

In a district like Pujehun that has riverine communities crossing the creeks and estuaries to access health facilities is a risk as the dug- out canoes are not safe and the time it takes to get a patient from a small phakia to peripheral health unit takes time which further jeopardizes the survival of the patients. It also boils down to the decentralization of governance that has not taken hold yet in my country, Sierra Leone. Imagine in Moyamba district in the south of Sierra Leone this medium happened to get a glimpse of the health center in Njama Kowa chiefdom and the story is not good to write home about. Communication in the chiefdom headquarter town, Njama is a challenge. Mobile network connectivity is a serious challenge as land phones are no longer available ” You have to wait until the network is available before you communicate or move to a specific location to get network,” Community Health Officer (CHO), Teresa Allieu reveals her ordeal. Not all of them at the center are on salary so the risk of corruption and extorting from poor patients is real. Also, she adds ” inflation has drowned out the increments that government did to our salaries.” She seems passionate about her job as the condition under which she is working is not favourable. Drugs supplied by government arrive usually late and are not sufficient. Patients do the cleaning themselves as the health center cannot afford to pay cleaners. When asked why, the rejoinder was ” there is no budget for this.”

Partners like Marie Stopes Society, GOAL help the center with wash facilities and family planning services. The only available stethoscope at the center is ” now did functional.” They get ” refresher courses through workshops and trainings.” One thing was very clear to this medium that health workers are unwilling to work in remote areas so government needs to give trained staff remote allowances and other incentives to help save lives in those parts of the country. Donors and other partners need to work more on rural health facilities to save lives where there are glaring vulnerabilities.

 Copyright –Published in print in Expo Times Newspaper on Monday, May 13TH, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)