Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 June 2024:
A new government hospital built to provide healthcare for children in Sierra Leone by the Government of Japan in Lumley, Freetown, has been handed over to the government of Sierra Leone.
The well-furnished and equipped state-of-the-art pediatric hospital which costs over $16 million will support the government in improving health care service delivery in a country where Child mortality is one of the highest in the world.
Named by the government as “The President Dr Julius Maada Bio Pediatric Centre of Excellence”, the hospital has a bed capacity of 166 for patients and 46 for mothers in the Special Baby Care Unit. It has an emergency room, an operation theatre, a special outpatient clinic, a pediatric intensive care unit, a high-dependency unit, an isolation unit, a surgical ward, an oncology special care unit, a kangaroo mother care unit, and a special baby care unit.
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Jalikatu Mustapha, said that the newly commissioned hospital is one of the best in the sub-region in terms of equipment, facilities, and bed capacity. She added that the Ola During Hospital has 160 beds for the millions of children accessing it.
Member of Parliament for Constituency 132 in Lumley, Freetown where the hospital is located – Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Tawa Conteh, said the construction work was possible as a result of the government’s decision to agree to pay the thousands of squatters who occupied the old government building before it was knocked down to make way for the new hospital.
The JICA Chief Representative in Sierra Leone, Madam Suzuki Momoko, described the opening ceremony as memorable, especially when it rained before the commencement of the ceremony. She said that the hospital is well equipped with modern-day medical equipment and that it should contribute to improving quality of health care for children in Sierra Leone.
Minister of Health, Dr Austin Demby, thanked President Bio for his visionary leadership and commitment to the attainment of universal health coverage, where no one would be left behind.
President Julius Maada Bio described the achievement by his government as another milestone in the pursuit of human capital development for Sierra Leoneans. He noted that the ceremony was born out of the challenging figures of the country’s infant mortality rate some six years ago, coupled with overcrowding at the Ola During hospital, the only such facility in Freetown.
The President said that with determination he was able to call for support from the Government of Japan to construct the pediatric hospital of excellence, and expressed sincere gratitude to the Japanese Government, JICA for completing the project on time; and to the Ministry of Health and Ola During Hospital for their commitment to saving lives.
But questions remain as to the effective management and upkeep of this new hospital, in a country where lack of electricity and water supply, compounded by the acute shortage of trained medical staff, are seriously hampering the delivery of reasonable standard of healthcare.
That seriously cannot be the name. When a child is sick, I guess one parent is going to say, we have to take the child to The President Dr Julius Maada Bio Pediatric Centre of Excellence. This is the height of no shame. Naming a gift from a foreign government after himself is all kinds of wrong. It won’t be long before we start getting told he had the hospital build, not that Japan decided to help us in that regard. I love how the Minister of Health, Dr Austin Demby, “thanked President Bio for his visionary leadership and commitment to the attainment of universal health coverage, where no one would be left behind.” Our country needs help.
Bio seems to be a polarizing figure. One day he is putting hits out on the citizens for demonstrating against his appalling rulership till date, other days he is catering to women maternal needs, with a facility that I’m hopeful would enable them to carry out the highest form of motherly duty safe and sound. I am however confused in regards to the conflicting nature between both aforementioned positions taken by yours truly. It is really a mouthful. I’m failing to grasp whether Bio stands in favor of the preservation of life of the country’s citizens, or is he more aligned with the idea of their premature demise, which he himself has had the tendency to inflict?
Our leaders should stop politicizing national services which has been going on for decades but should instead focus on the greater good such services will bring and its sustainability for future generations. Naming a hospital built with funds from another government for the benefit of Sierra Leone in the name of a sitting president is political opportunism at its worst. The President can build a private hospital from his own funds in his hometown and name it as he pleases no one will care. Imagine if the National Health Service in the UK founded by the labour Government in 1948 was named after the then Prime minister Clement Attlee.
Our leaders cannot even build good roads to their own villages but yet want their names in Universities, hospitals etc what a disgrace.
It is the responsibility of those who lead us to provide basic health care facilities and should not be seen as a favour. We hope that this facility will be maintained for generations to benefit.