By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, has commenced a nationwide distribution of 96,000 (50Kg) bags of rice to government health facilities across Sierra Leone. The rice is part of a 20,000 bags of rice donated by the Government of Indian to the people of Sierra Leone.
Speaking at the handing over of Connaught hospital’s share of the consignment, the Minister of Health and Sanitation Dr. Demby said the raining season has always been a challenging period in terms of access to food in Sierra Leone, therefore, government thought it fit that the most vulnerable sick people in the hospitals and healthcare workers in remote communities with little or no inpatients are to benefit from the rice.
He noted that the food supplies would help in patients with feeding.
He assured that his ministry will ensure the food reaches it intended beneficiaries while thanking the government and people of India for their kind gesture.
"The Ministry is going to ensure that these bags of rice reach the target beneficiaries," he said.
The Director of the National Medical Supplies Agency, Dr. Lawrence Sandi, responsible for the distribution of the items across the country, said his agency will ensure that the rice get to every intended beneficiary health facility in the country.
He said they had done the calculation with regards to the amount of rice that was being consumed in every facility every month, noting that because Connaught was consuming 23 bags of rice every month, they had supplied a total of 348 bags which should last for the year. 272 bags will go to the general ward while 76 bags will go to the Annex ward.
While thanking the government of Sierra Leone and the Indian Government for the gesture, the Senior Matron at the Connaught hospital, Fatmata Kainja Jalloh appealed to the Minister to also provide logistical supports to the facility as it was needed.
Speaking to Politico, Ramatu Ali a relative of a patient admitted at the general ward at Connaught said the food supply was a good one as there are patients admitted who do not have relatives that can afford to provide them with daily meal while admitted at the hospital. However, she expressed fears that the food might not benefit the intended beneficiaries. “They will soon start sharing it among themselves,” she alleged.
The remaining bags of rice according to the officials will go to other sectors.
Copyright © Politico Online (13/08/21)
