By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
Health Workers in Bo District, southern Sierra Leone, have demanded the payment of their remote allowances which, according to them, has not been forthcoming for over a long period of time now.
The Nurse-in-charge of Tikonko Bo District Community Health Centre (CHC), Fatmata Sesay, told Politico that they have long been promised the remote allowances but that the ministry doesn’t seem to care about fulfilling its promise. She lamented that this has caused them some inconveniences in their various locations, noting that their salaries are hardly enough to address their other needs that arise as a result of relocation to remote parts of the country.
“If am given remote allowance I will be glad. I will buy small generator to live lively because the place is dark just after 7pm. We have been sent here by government to serve the people and we don't have option," Nurse Sesay said.
She called on the government to address their concern, noting that this has been the reason some of their colleagues are reluctant to be transferred. She said the communities do need their services as health workers.
The Human Resource Officer attached to the Bo District Health Management Team, Sylvester Lagao, in an interview with Politico said that health workers who are stationed in remote areas have been “storming” his office in protest for their remote allowance.
The concerns of the health workers, according to Lagao, is that they continue to stay in deprived communities and missing out on further education, social life, as well as staying far away from their families without the due compensation that can encourage them to do their work without much worries.
Lagao added that the issue of PIN Code for health workers have been addressed, noting that the remote allowance was also on the pipeline as the ministry had already done “reclassification” to determine the beneficiaries, and the nature of the communities in terms of distance from the city and access.
“The issue of remote allowances is in the process because government and its partners have supported activities on that, including a reclassification survey. We have done that all over the country in early 2019,” Lagao said.
In acknowledging the importance of remote allowances, Lagao noted that it will encourage more health workers like nurses to be willing to go to hard-to-reach areas and stay there to serve the people effectively without leaving their post unannounced.
He went on to note that since the transfer of Dr. Roland Mash to Bo as District Medical Officer, several considerations were made in relation to the welfare of the personnel before transfer is done.
In a bid to cut down on the challenges faced in remote communities, Lagao explained that the Ministry of Health and Sanitation have recently distributed 32 XL motor bikes to health workers in charge of facilities in hard-to-reach communities. He added that the NGO World Vision has also supplied motor bikes to some heath facilities in their operational areas.
Lagao noted that the district still needs more nurses to be sent to different health facilities within it.
He called on the nurses to be patient as their concerns will be channeled to the appropriate authorities.
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