By Politico Staff Writer
Sierra Leone’s campaign against maternal and infant mortality has received a major boost with a $3.85 million grant.
The grant from an anonymous donor was specifically awarded to the Mama-Pikin Foundation, which is expected to support the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS) and the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex (USLTHC) to train obstetrician/gynecologist and pediatric specialists in the country.
According to a news dispatch issued on Saturday, December 5th, the foundation will support the Sierra Leone Postgraduate College of Health Specialties and the USLTHC to train 50 obstetrician/gynecologists and 50 pediatricians in Sierra Leone by 2029.
The Sierra Leone Council for Postgraduate Colleges of Health Specialties was established by an Act of Parliament in 2016, and it gave the MoHS the mandate to train postgraduate health specialists within the USLTHC. The ministry has been supporting postgraduate training programs since then.
In 2018, the MoHS facilitated training accreditation from the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital and Ola During Children’s Hospital. However, the training programs have faced challenges due to the lack of adequate teaching faculty.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world, partly due to the lack of trained personnel. Currently, there are less than ten Sierra Leonean obstetrician/gynecologists and ten pediatricians in the entire country and nearly all of them are in Freetown. Most doctors leave Sierra Leone to train in these specialties.
The Mama-Pikin Foundation, founded in 2008 by pediatrician Dr. Shekou Sesay and obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Fatu Forna Sesay to improve the health of women, children, and families in Sierra Leone, was chosen to implement the grant in partnership with the MOHS.
Dr. Sesay and Dr. Forna Sesay are honored to support the MOHS as they implement the postgraduate programs in obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, the statement said. It quoted Dr. Sesay himself stating: “The Mama-Pikin Foundation will support the USLTHC to ensure that the program is successful. Achieving this goal will allow us to have specialists across the country providing quality care for mothers and children in pediatric and maternity wards, thus eliminating the need for our people to suffer or travel abroad for treatment.”
Dr. Forna Sesay added: “This program is a big step forward for improving health in Sierra Leone, particularly as it relates to maternal and child mortality. Our country will now be strengthened to prevent the deaths of our children, and to ensure that no woman dies while giving life. This initial grant is for five years and the program will train doctors to provide pediatric services, gynecologic surgeries, cancer treatment, contraceptive services, as well as specialized care to women and children who have suffered rape or sexual violence.”
Freetown Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, who partnered with the MoHS to secure the grant, noted: “The Freetown City Council is very excited to partner with the Ministry of Health on this transformative program that will improve the health of women and children in Freetown and around the country. Reducing maternal and child mortality is a critical area of work for the “Transform Freetown” initiative – by reducing these deaths we will be transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable residents of Freetown and improving health outcomes for the people in our city.”
According to the news release, the endeavor was championed by the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Professor Alpha Wurie, who was cited expressing the Ministry’s commitment to postgraduate training in Sierra Leone.
“The Ministry of Health has worked hard to initiate and sustain the training of medical specialists, because we know how critical they are to improving the health of our people. We are very happy to roll-out this program in obstetrics/gynecology and pediatrics, and to keep our medical doctors in country, where they can provide quality health care while they are training to become specialists,” he was quoted.
The training program is scheduled to start in September of 2021.
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